H.E. Md Lutfor Rahman, Ambassador of Bangladesh to Vietnam, tells Anh Hoang from Vietnam Economic Times how stronger connectivity and sectoral cooperation can drive bilateral growth.
Twenty-five businesses from all economic sectors, cooperatives, and trade promotion organizations from Vietnam visited Bangladesh from October 23 to 28 to promote the export of Vietnamese goods to the country. Vietnam’s main export items to Bangladesh include clinker, cement, billet, and mobile phones.
The potential for trade between Vietnam and India is significant and may reach $15 billion this year. One bottleneck, however, is in transport, especially the absence of direct sea routes connecting the two countries. The newly-opened shipping line connecting central Vietnam with India and Bangladesh, operated by the Vietnam Maritime Corporation (VIMC), will resolve this problem.
Vietnam exported 3.5 million tons of rice worth $1.7 billion in the first half of 2022, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, up 16.2 per cent in volume and 4.6 per cent in value over the same period of 2021. Growth came from high demand in markets such as China, Bangladesh, Iran, and Sri Lanka.