Oman, Vietnam hold trade talks

Muscat: The Sultanate of Oman is looking to Vietnam to boost exports of fish and mining materials, as the value of import and export between the two countries reached $180 million in 2017.
The Omani-Vietnamese Joint Committee held its meeting for the third session in Vietnam and Dr. Ali bin Masoud Al Sunaidi, Minister of Commerce and Industry said, “It is clear from the discussions of the committee that imports and exports between the two countries increased during 2017 by 22 per cent to reach $180 million and the Sultanate invests about $200 million through the Vietnam-Oman investment.”
The meeting headed by Dr. Al-Sunaidi discussed ways of enhancing and developing co-operation between the two countries in trade and investment, and the means of increasing direct trade.
The committee also discussed aspects related to investment in Vietnam, where it focuses on infrastructure projects such as electricity, roads and water as part of privatisation projects in addition to medical projects, pharmaceuticals and food production.
Direct import
Furthermore, the committee looked into linking Omani ports to Vietnamese ports to boost Oman’s exports of fish, mining materials and petrochemicals to Vietnam and other neighbouring Asian countries, while increasing the direct import from Vietnam of commodities such as rice, electronics and textiles.
“The Republic of Vietnam is interested in strengthening co-operation with the Sultanate
in all fields.
“The energy and gas sector is one of the possible sectors,” said the Minister of Industry and Trade of Vietnam, Dr. Tran Tuan, who also stressed the importance of enhancing co-operation in the field
of tourism.
The Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry on promoting economic co-operation and opening new fields of joint investments in the agricultural sector, fisheries, and logistics.
Hussain Al Buthiri, chairman of Haitha Al Bahihi International said, “Vietnam is a destination for re-export of fish to most Asian countries and the idea of establishing a major re-export terminal in partnership with Vietnam will help increase the added value of Omani fish products for marketing in the world markets. We also focussed on the introduction of modern technology in the field of shipbuilding.”