BD, Vietnam agree to increase bilateral trade

Bangladesh and Vietnam have agreed to take concerted efforts to take their annual bilateral trade to 1,000 million US dollars by 2016. The two countries reached the agreement during a bilateral meeting between Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid and his Vietnamese counterpart Truong Tan Sang at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi on Monday. During the 80-minute meeting, the two Presidents also agreed to remove barriers to trade and investment in the two countries, Bangladesh President's Press Secretary Joynal Abedin said after the meeting. According to Bangladesh Foreign Ministry, the existing trade volume between the two countries is less than 700 million US dollars. During July-Jun in 2014-15, Bangladesh exported products worth 32.77 million US dollars to Vietnam while imported items worth 318.4 from the Southeast Asian country. Both the leaders also laid emphasis on establishing regular Foreign Office Consultation between the two countries at the earliest to ensure close cooperation, the Press Secretary added, according to a news agency.

-SRS