At the meeting (Photo: congthuong.vn)
Besides the background of political relations, Vietnam and Belarus are also jointly implementing the Vietnam - Eurasian Economic Union Free Trade Agreement, of which Belarus is a member, and many bilateral cooperation agreements in most economic fields.
On January 11, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Dang Hoang An met with Belarus Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. N. N. Borisevich.
During the meeting, the two sides discussed the preparation of the official visit to Vietnam by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Belarus R.A. Golovchenko in 2022.
Statistics from the General Department of Vietnam Customs showed the total bilateral trade turnover in 2020 reached USD108.5 million. By the end of the third quarter of 2021, the total bilateral trade turnover reached USD89.6 million, a year-on-year increase of 38.1%.
According to Deputy Minister Dang Hoang An, although bilateral trade has grown, two-way trade turnover between Vietnam and Belarus is still modest and does not meet the potential. “Within the framework of the official visit to Vietnam by Belarusian Prime Minister R.A. Golovchenko in 2022, I hope that businesses of the two sides will have the conditions to meet and exchange directly to promote trade and investment cooperation,” he said.
Appreciating the traditional friendship between the two countries, Deputy Minister Borisevich said that Vietnam is the most important and reliable partner in the region, and Belarus always continues to promote that cooperative relationship to raise the level of strategic partnership. Therefore, the official visit to Vietnam by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Belarus in 2022 is expected to create an important impetus to promote cooperation between the two countries to new heights, helping to promote bilateral trade and investment cooperation relations to be more commensurate with the very close political and diplomatic relations between the two countries. "One of the preparations for this visit is to hold the 15th meeting of the Vietnam - Belarus Intergovernmental Committee on economic - trade and scientific - technical cooperation," said Deputy Minister Borisevich.
Regarding this issue, Deputy Minister Dang Hoang An affirmed that the Ministry of Industry and Trade will closely coordinate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam and relevant ministries and branches to effectively organize the visit of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Belarus./.