India trade to reach $2 billion in 2008

17:20' 04/05/2008 (GMT+7)
A Dien Quang Light Bulb Co worker controls a compact bulb production line. Bilateral trade with India is set to reach US$2 billion this year.
VietNamNet Bridge - Two-way trade between India and Vietnam is expected to reach US$2 billion in 2008, two years ahead of goals set in the joint statement issued nearly one year ago when the two countries established a strategic partnership.
With a population of 1.1 billion people and the second highest GDP growth rate in Asia, India offers good opportunities for Vietnamese markets, said Vietnam’s ambassador to India, Vu Quang Diem.
Major exported goods from Vietnam to India include pepper, rubber, computer hardware and electronic products, cinnamon bark and spice, and garment and textile products.
According to Diem, Vietnamese goods are competitive in the Indian market, evidenced by a 20 per cent annual growth rate in Vietnam’s exports to India over the past few years.
However, two-way trade between the two countries remains "modest," with the trade balance being in India’s favour.
The economic development gap is one of the major hinderances for trade promotion between India and Vietnam, Diem said.
The ASEAN-India Free Trade Agreement and the Vietnam-India Free Trade Agreement, soon to be signed, should promote trade between the two nations.
These agreements will create more favourable conditions for Vietnamese goods and enhance their market shares in the Indian market, said Diem.
2008 is a transitional year to implement the joint statement on strategic partnership between India and Vietnam.
The Vietnamese embassy in India is preparing campaigns to promote Vietnamese products and tourism. A number of Indian operations will be recommended to Vietnam for business and investment activities.
According to Diem, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung’s visit to India in July 2007 helped bring in big investment projects from India to Vietnam.
These include the $527 million steel refinery project in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province, the Indian Essar group’s $600 million oil exploration and exploitation project and two big steel projects with a more than $4 billion investment in Tata group in Ha Tinh Province. Last year India ranked sixth in foreign investment in Vietnam.