“The trade between Vietnam and Burkina Faso has remained modest in the recent years; however, the two countries have strong potential to boost their investment in the fields of power generation, agricultural products such as fruits and vegetables, agricultural materials, wood and wood products, as well as machinery and technology transfer,”remarked Mr Zourougi Gnessa Bernard, Vice Minister of Industry, Trade and Crafts of Burkina Faso at the “Business and Investment of Vietnam and Burkina Faso” Forum.
Giving a speech at the opening of the forum, Mr Nguyen Ngoc Thang, Deputy Director of International Relations, Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), said that in recent years, the economic and trade cooperation between Vietnam and Burkina Faso has grown but is still not commensurate with the potentials and strengths of the countries. To overcome this weakness, Mr Zourougi Gnessa Bernard said the business communities of Vietnam and Burkina Faso should grasp opportunities to gain mutual benefit and sustainable development for both sides. Two governments will endeavour to promote bilateral trade relations to create favourable platforms for the business community. Besides, trade promotion organizations will continue to organize economic cooperation forums to enable both sides to expand and strengthen their cooperation.
Sharing about promising areas in which Vietnam and Burkina Faso can enhance cooperation, Mr Mohamed Ben Imamo, Director of Trade Support Strengthening Programme under the International Trade Centre (ITC), the United Nations, said that agriculture and textiles are potential sectors that Vietnam and Burkina Faso could consider for cooperation.
Mr Do Huu Huy, Deputy Director of the Africa-West Asia-South Asia Markets Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said the export turnover between Vietnam and Burkina Faso increased from more than US$8 million in 2008 to approximately US$18.3 million in 2012, though this number is small compared to Vietnam’s trade turnover with the African market as a whole, which reaches almost over US$2 billion per year. The main reasons for the modest level of trade and industrial cooperation between the two countries are the geographical distance, limited field trips and lack of information about markets and partners. Besides, Vietnam and Burkina Faso have not signed cooperation agreements, especially in the fields of economy, trade, industry and investment.
To promote trade between Vietnam and Burkina Faso, Mr Huy recommended that the two governments should strengthen business trips for trade promotion, and trade fairs and exhibitions in each country, as well as improve the legal framework of the two countries through the MoUs on the trade of rice and cotton, and investment protection treaties. At the same time, both countries should strengthen the information exchange activities and promote cooperation in investment, and boost links under the trade agreement of Vietnam and the Francophone community, with the support of the International Trade Centre (ITC) and International Organisation of La Francophonie (OIF).
Burkina Faso, located in West Africa, is a country with a population of about 18 million. Burkina Faso’s economy in recent years has had a growth rate of approximately 5 percent. Two key exports of the country are cotton and gold; but since 2009, gold has become its number one export product.
To attract foreign investment, in 2011, Burkina Faso committed to improving the investment environment and is seen as one of the countries with the most dramatic reforms in the region. Currently, Burkina Faso is accelerating the open market process and focusing on rural development for food self-sufficiency. Besides the regional cooperation activities accelerated within West Africa and in some traditional customers, Burkina Faso is seeking to expand relationships with international financial and monetary institutions of Asian countries, including Vietnam.
In recent years, under the framework of the cooperation with OIF and ITC, Vietnam and Burkina Faso have organised business exchanges and trade promotion activities for the delegations of the two countries.In January 2011, the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam sent business delegations to Burkina Faso to study the country’s cotton market.
On occasion of the visit to Vietnam from November 3 -9, 2013 of the Burkina Faso missions including 27 officials and businesses, on November 4, 2013, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of Vietnam, Le Duong Quang, and Deputy Minister of Industry Trade and Craft of Burkina Faso, Bernard Gnessa Zougouri, signed an MoU on trade and industrial cooperation between the two countries. The signing of the MOU is an important legal basis for cooperation between the two countries in the fields of trade and industry, particularly and bilateral relations, generally.
My Chau
Đăng ký: VietNam News