KARACHI: A high-powered delegation from Vietnam headed by the Deputy Director General of Africa and South West Asia Department of Vietnam’s Ministry of Trade and Industry, Hoang Duc Nhuan, on Wednesday visited Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) to hold Business-to-Business (B2B) meetings with their counterparts in Karachi.
Prior to commencement of formal B2B meetings, an introductory session was held which was attended by Second Secretary, Head of Vietnam Trade Mission (Karachi), Vu Viet Dzung, President KCCI Iftikhar Ahmed Vohra, Senior Vice President KCCI Muhammad Ibrahim Kasumbi, Chairman KCCI Sub-Committee for Diplomatic Affairs Naeem Sharif, Former Vice President KCCI Nasir Mehmood, KCCI Managing Committee members and a number of relevant businessmen and industrialists, who were looking forward to explore business opportunities in Pakistan and Vietnam.
Hoang Duc Nhuan on behalf of Vietnamese Ministry of Trade and Industry, expressed gratitude to KCCI for organizing the B2B session. He said that Pakistan has now become one of the big trade partners of Vietnam. In 2014, the two-way trade volume reached $ 427 million, of which Vietnam exports stood at $ 282.6 million and imports valued at $ 144.8 million, he added.
Vietnamese Deputy DG also underscored the need to exchange delegations at various levels such as those of provincial authorities, commodities associations and Chambers of Commerce and Industry with a view to facilitate interaction between the business communities of the two countries.
He also advised the business community to benefit from the experience of Vietnamese companies in the various sectors of the economy including energy, textile and garments, chemicals, mechanics, foods processing and infrastructure development.
Earlier, President KCCI Iftikhar Ahmed Vohra, while expressing satisfaction over improved trade, said that this year, trade between the two countries continues to exhibit growing trend as the trade volume has risen sharply by almost 25 percent this year. However, he underscored the need to make more efforts to further enhance Pakistan-Vietnam trade as the existing trade volume does not depict the actual trade potential.
He said that Karachi, being the financial and industrial hub of Pakistan, offers lucrative trade and investment opportunities to Vietnamese business community as the city is blessed with abundant natural resources, exceptional talent, cheaper labor force and conducive business environment whereas the Government of Pakistan offers friendly and secure policy to foreign investors. “Some of the high-quality goods are being manufactured by the businessmen and industrialists of Karachi and the Vietnamese delegation can look into the possibility of either undertaking investment initiatives or joint ventures in various sectors of the economy,” he added.—PR
