Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh proposed to early conclude the negotiations on the Vietnam-United Arab Emirates (UAE) Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) at a reception in Hanoi on August 26 for UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi and leaders of 19 major UAE corporations, the Vietnam News Agency has reported.

PM Chinh suggested facilitating cooperation and investment between businesses of both countries, considering the possibility of reducing tariffs on certain goods to leverage complementary strengths of their economies, aiming for a two-way trade target of $10 billion.

He proposed the two sides to boost cooperation in the energy, oil and gas sectors as well as other fields like labor and tourism.

Measures should also be taken to enhance bilateral cooperation in developing the Halal food industry, promoting the Vietnamese export of Halal products, seafood, fresh fruits, and processed foods to the UAE and the Middle East, PM Chinh said, encouraging the UAE to support the establishment of an international financial center in Ho Chi Minh City and invest in other sectors.

For his part, Minister Al Zeyoudi updated the PM on the CEPA negotiations, assuring that UAE ministries and agencies are actively working with Vietnamese counterparts to finalize and sign the agreement.

The UAE wants to strengthen collaboration with Vietnamese firms to produce and process Halal food, he said, adding that the UAE plans to establish a council of business cooperation with Vietnam to deepen and improve the effectiveness of Vietnam-UAE cooperation, particularly in trade and investment.

In the first seven months of the year, the two-way trade turnover was estimated to reach $4 billion, a year-on-year increase of 47%.