Vietnam-UAE intergovernmental meeting to discuss numerous issues

The two ministers planned to review the implementation of content agreed in the third meeting’s minutes in Hanoi in 2016, such as solving difficulties related to joint ventures and the investment cooperation of enterprises operating in the fields of oil and gas, renewable energy, metallurgy, and ship repair. 

They will re-examine the negotiation and signing of cooperation agreements on customs, banking, agriculture, extradition and transfer of sentenced persons; as well as the operation of the direct flight between the two countries. 

Regarding specific cooperation measures for the time ahead, the two ministers will discuss the opening of the UAE Consulate General and UAE local representative offices in Ho Chi Minh City and other major cities.

They also discuss the further facilitation of Halal certification for Vietnamese seafood products for export to the UAE, and how to encourage the two countries’ enterprises to participate in each other’s exhibitions and fairs. 

The meeting will focus on promoting the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development to respond to the proposal to finance a transport infrastructure project in the northern mountainous province of Cao Bang of Vietnam; extending the memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the financial sector; and negotiating to add terms related to information exchange to the two countries’ agreement on double taxation avoidance.

Notably, the ministers will negotiate and sign MoUs on cooperation between the State Bank of Vietnam and the UAE Central Bank, as well as cultural cooperation; in addition to negotiating the signing of an agreement to recognise the certificate of professional qualifications for sailors under the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping for Seafarers amended in 1978 and 1979. 

They will discuss in detail measures to enhance cooperation in attracting investment and share experiences in the field of renewable energy and technologies to improve efficiency and save energy. 

The ministers will also co-chair the Vietnam-UAE Business Forum later in the afternoon as part of the meeting’s framework. 

The forum is said to be a good chance for Vietnamese firms to directly meet and seek cooperation opportunities with UAE partners in the fields of trade, industry, banking, logistics, and infrastructure. 

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Department of Asian-African Markets, the UAE has a population of over 6 million people with a favorable geographical position for the transshipment of goods to countries between the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia. 

The UAE is currently the third largest re-export centre in the world and a market with great purchasing power and high solvency, as well as great import demand for agricultural products, seafood, and processed products.

The country is the biggest importer of Vietnam in the Middle East and Africa. In 2018, two-way trade turnover hit USD 5.76 billion, of which USD5.2 billion was Vietnamese exports./.