Vietnamese coffee displayed at the event(Photo: VNA)
Bangkok (VNA) - The ‘Vietnam Goods and Tourism Week in Thailand2018’ officially kicked off on August 22 in Bangkok, displaying a wide range ofVietnamese products with high export potential.
Attending the opening ceremony were Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Industry andTrade Do Thang Hai, Thai Minister of Commerce Sontirat Sontijirawong, andVietnamese Ambassador to Thailand Nguyen Hai Bang.
This is the third year in a row the Vietnamese goods week has been organised inthe city. Besides introducing Vietnamese goods to Thai customers, tourism isalso promoted as part of this year’s progamme.
The event is a project in the framework of ‘Promote Vietnamese enterprises todirectly participate in foreign distribution networks up to 2020’ which wasendorsed by the Prime Minister in his Decision No 1513/QD-TTg dated September3, 2015.
Thefive-day event draws the participation of about 60 Vietnamese firms, exhibitingitems with high export potential such as processed fruits, coffee, instantnoodles, clothes and silk, as well as products representing the identity of theregions of Vietnam such as vermicelli, mushrooms and handicrafts.
Among those, 20 businesses will attend the business matching session withbuying teams from Central Group Thailand.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Deputy Minister Hai said in recent years, theVietnamese Government has created favourable conditions for local businesses tofurther expand their networks overseas, of which Thailand is a promisingmarket.
The ‘Vietnam Goods and Tourism Week in Thailand’ is a critical activity aimedat boosting trade connection and helping Vietnamese goods to access CentralGroup’s distribution network, he said.
Thai Minister of Commerce Sontirat Sontijirawong said Thailand and Vietnam havemaintained continuous relations for over 42 years. These relations have notbeen just diplomatic, but also strongly involved with economy, trade,investment, culture, education and tourism.
Regarding trade cooperation in particular, the two countries have longexchanged goods and services, with trade volume and value increasing everyyear. The Thai private sector has been investing in Vietnam as well asimporting Vietnamese products, according to Sontijiwarong.
Thailand is currently Vietnam’s largest trade partner in the Association ofSoutheast Asian Nations (ASEAN), according to the Department of Asia-Africa Marketsunder the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
Last year, two-way trade rose to 15.3 billion USD from 11.5 billion USD in2015, recording an average annual growth rate of 15.5 percent.
The figure in the first seven months of this year reached around 9.5 billionUSD, a rise of 14.2 percent year-on-year. The two countries are striving tobring two-way trade to 20 billion USD by 2020 and ensure more balanced trade inthe future.-VNA
