Signatories of the meeting’s minutes include Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Le Duong Quang, who headed the Vietnamese team at the committee, and Ahmed H. Salah, Deputy Minister of Economics-Planning and leader of the Saudi Arabian delegation.
During the meeting, both sides discussed the implementation of co-operation programmes to ensure energy security and food for the two countries. They also closely explored measures to activate Saudi initiatives on pouring money into foreign markets.
The two sides prioritised bilateral future collaboration in agriculture, oil and gas, and agreed to step up negotiations securing investment protection, marine transportation and cooperation between their press agencies.
Saudi Arabia hopes to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Vietnamese Ministry of Culture, Sports of Tourism in the fields of youth development and sports.
According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, two-way trade between Vietnam and Saudi Arabia has grown rapidly, hitting 1.71 billion USD in 2013 from US$1.04 billion in 2011.
Last year, Vietnam’s exports to Saudi Arabia reached US$471.4 million, with major currency earners being agricultural products, seafood, rice and apparel. Meanwhile, it imported US$1.2 billion worth of goods from the country.
