Lao Bao border gate facilitates trade between Vietnam and Laos. (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – The upcoming visit to Laos made by Party General Secretary and President Nguyen PhuTrong from February 24-25 is expected to serve as a launching pad for bothnations to tap their economic cooperation potential to the fullest extent.
According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), effective border trademanagement tools have been applied by the two Governments in recent years,helping the bilateral trade reach more than 1 billion USD in 2018, up 13percent against the previous year and fulfilling the trade growth target set atthe 40th meeting of the Vietnam-Laos Inter-Governmental Committee.
A bilateral trade agreement and a border trade deal signed in 2015 togetherwith various cooperation agreements in the fields of investment, transport,security-defence, and agriculture have laid the legal foundation for andprovided the prerequisite for bilateral economic and trade relations to grow, saidDo Quoc Hung, Deputy Head of the MoIT’s Asia-Africa Market Department.
Also, Hung said cooperation programmes between the two ministries of industryand trade, such as the Vietnam-Laos trade development project, the MoU on theestablishment of the Vietnam-Laos economy and trade portal, have greatly helpedto enhance bilateral trade as well as border trade in particular.
However, the trade growth is still a far cry from the potential of each nation,the official said, adding that trade exchanges at some border gates are stillsluggish.
He noted that Vietnamese firms have met with many difficulties when exportingto Laos as their products are facing fierce competition with those from Chinaand Thailand, which account for 80 percent of Laos’ imports.
In addition, trade infrastructure at border gates, as well as payment andtransport services between the two countries need improvements, Hung said.
This year, Vietnam and Laos eye a growth of at least 10 percent in their traderevenue. They will promote connectivity between the two economies, particularlyin the fields of transport, energy, sustainable use of water and naturalresources, and human resources training, the MoIT said.-VNA
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