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Laos, Vietnam vow to increase bilateral trade
Laos and Vietnam have agreed to work together to increase the volume of trade between the two neighbours, a senior government official has said.
The agreement was reached at a meeting held in Vientiane last week between Laos’ Ministry of Industry and Commerce and Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade.
The two sides agreed to diversify the range of products exported and imported to increase their two-way trade, Director General of the Lao ministry’s Foreign Trade Policy Department, Dr Laohua Cherching, said on Friday.
“Both sides will also do more to facilitate trade, including the facilitation of goods transport,” he told Vientiane Times.
The move comes after the two countries have witnessed a decline in the value of their two-way trade over the past few years.
In 2015, the value of trade dropped to US$1.220 billion from US$1.284 billion in 2014. In 2016, the value slumped further to US$823.4 million, according to a report presented at the meeting.
The Lao government’s ban on the export of unprocessed wood products was a significant factor in the decline of trade in 2016, Dr Laohua said.
In May 2016, Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith issued an Order prohibiting the export of unprocessed wood products in a move to stamp out illegal logging and add value to wood by using it to make various kinds of finished products prior to export.
In a bid to increase two-way trade, last week’s meeting agreed to intensify cooperation in promoting trade, goods production, and import/export using the existing potential and cooperation mechanisms.
Deputy Minister of Industry and Commerce, Mr Bounmy Manivong, told the meeting that Laos and Vietnam had signed a bilateral cooperation agreement on trade, and a cooperation agreement on border trade.
In addition, both sides enjoy cooperation within the Asean Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA) framework. Dr Laohua said the two ministries, as well as the Laos-Vietnam and Vietnam-Laos intergovernmental cooperation committees, have met regularly to promote bilateral cooperation between Laos and Vietnam.
The two neighbours share a 2,000-km border that has eight international crossings, seven local checkpoints and 19 traditional checkpoints.
All of the above-mentioned factors provide conditions that are conducive for boosting trade between the two nations.
“Laos and Vietnam have great potential in trade cooperation, but the value of trade is not as high as it should be,” the director said.
The Vietnamese side underlined the need to diversify exports and imports between Laos and Vietnam in association with investment promotion in agricultural production and industrial processing in order to increase the two-way trade value, according to the Lao Economic Daily.
It suggested that Laos and Vietnam make use of the East-West Economic Corridor and the Laos-Thailand Friendship Bridge linking Savannakhet province in Laos with Mukdahan province in Thailand to boost trade.
The Vietnamese side also called for Laos and Vietnam to cooperate in jointly developing trade infrastructure and logistics to boost bilateral trade in the long term.
Source: http://www.vientianetimes.org.la/FreeContent/FreeConten_Laos.php