The statement was made by delegates to the virtual seminar themed “Promoting Vietnam-India business relations in the areas of garments, textiles and health”, organised by the Vietnamese Embassy in India on September 10.
The event drew the participation of about 250 enterprises, scholars and policymakers from the two countries in the three aforementioned fields.
In his address, Vietnamese Ambassador to India Pham Sanh Chau emphasised that the world’s geo-political picture is witnessing significance changes with rivalry and competition between major powers, and tensions and disputes in the area of security affecting economic issues. In addition, supply chains are facing multiple challenges due to the disease, thus hurting global trade.
However, this is also a good opportunity for India and Vietnam to promote bilateral relations and complement each other, thereby contributing to the recovery and enhancement of supply chains in important fields, he said.
Chau affirmed that the Vietnamese Embassy is ready to act as a bridge for the two countries’ businesses to connect and boost trade exchange.
Delegates to the seminar lauded Vietnam’s economic achievements in recent years with an average annual growth rate of 6-7%. Especially in the context of COVID-19, Vietnam remains among the few economies in the world that will record positive growth this year. Vietnam is also a popular destination for foreign direct investment (FDI) with its signing of more than 10 free trade agreements (FTAs).
In the health sector, Chairman of the Association of Indian Medical Device Industry (AIMED) Rajav Nath expressed his admiration of Vietnam’s response to the disease and the country’s strong public health system that has helped it effectively control the pandemic.
According to Ashok Juneja, President of the Textile Association (India), garments and textiles are a key export sector of Vietnam with revenue of up to US$36 billion, nearly equalling India’s US$38 billion value. However, regarding the export structure, he noted that India exports US$16 billion of garment and US$22 billion of textile products, while Vietnam exports up to US$31 billion of garments and only US$5billion of textile items. Therefore, the two countries have ample space to boost cooperation in this area.
Juneja added that India has a long-standing textile industry, with its strength based on production from natural fibers such as cotton, jute, silk and wool, to synthetic fibers such as polyster and nylon. This advantage will be a valuable complement to Vietnam, which heavily depends on imported raw materials for its garment and textile industry.
