Business
Belarus, Vietnam foster economic, trade ties
  • | VOV | November 28, 2011 12:01 PM
Belarus Prime Minister Mikhail Myasnikovich will pay an official visit to Vietnam from November 28 to December 1, opening up new cooperation opportunities for both countries.

Vietnam and Belarus have enjoyed a time-honoured friendship and multifaceted cooperation since the latter was a republic of the former Soviet Union (USSR). Belarus has always valued Vietnam’s international status and considers the Southeast Asian nation a reliable partner in the world arena.

 
 Belarus Prime Minister Mikhail Myasnikovich

Belarus opened its embassy in Hanoi in 1998 and Vietnam inaugurated its embassy in Minsk in 2003.

The two countries have constantly maintained regular exchanges of delegations and high-level contacts. They have also supported each other at the United Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement and in other international forums.

Through the exchange of traditional commodities, two-way trade between Vietnam and Belarus reached US$151 million in the first eight months of 2011, a year-on-year increase of 2.6 times.

Vietnam exports seafood, electrical and electronic equipment, telephone sets, printers, garments, footwear, rice, natural rubber and canned fruit to Belarus, and imports fertilizers, machinery, automobile spare parts, and tractors.

Vietnamese seafood has recently penetrated Belarus, which accounts for a large proportion of exports to this market.

The Vietnam-Belarus Inter-Governmental Committee for Economic, Trade and Scientific-Technological Cooperation has convened eight sessions. At the 8th meeting in Minsk in November 2010, both sides signed an economic cooperation programme for 2011-12.

Belarus has also helped train many Vietnamese officials and specialists. Currently, approximately 70 Vietnamese students are following training courses in Belarus.

Progress has been made in sci-tech cooperation, and many joint projects have been implemented. The Vietnam-Belarus Committee on Science and Technology has held six sessions so far.

Labour is considered a prospective area for bilateral cooperation. Vietnamese businesses have already signed contracts to send Vietnamese nationals to work for a sports and entertainment complex project in Minsk.

The two countries have also strengthened ties between some of their localities by signing cooperation documents between Hanoi and Minsk, Danang and Grodno province, HCM City and Minsk, Grodno and Brest provinces, and Binh Thuan and Vitsebsk provinces.

During Hanoi Mayor Nguyen The Thao’s visit to Belarus in May 2010, the two capital cities signed a memorandum of understanding on future cooperation in economics, transportation and culture.

The two countries have also agreed to promote cooperation in security-national defence, health care, culture, information, sports and tourism.

Currently, 600 Vietnamese nationals are residing in Belarus. In December 2006, President Alexander Lukashenko allowed Vietnamese nationals who had been working and studying in Belarus before 1992 to legally settle in the country.

The two countries have also signed a number of agreements including those on economic and trade cooperation in 1992, investment protection and encouragement in 1993, visa exemption in 1993, aviation cooperation in 2007, agricultural cooperation in 2010, and banking supervision in 2010.

PM Myasnikovich’s visit demonstrates Belarus’ desire to strengthen the traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation with Vietnam, especially in economics, trade and investment. It also offers a chance for Belarusian businesses accompanying the PM to explore Vietnam’s investment environment and expand their operation in the country.

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