MOSCOW: Nguyen Thi Hong, vice chairwoman of the HCM City People’s Committee, has said that the city would send a business delegation to Russia next month as part of trade promotion activities.
The southern hub would accelerate trade promotion in Russia in the future to effectively tap into the potential Eurasian market and utilise opportunities brought by the free trade agreements (FTAs) signed, she said.
The city’s enterprises would also have the chance to join a Vietnamese high-quality goods fair which is scheduled to take place in Moscow from November 12 to December 12 this year, she said.
The forthcoming events would help the city’s enterprises meet with Russian partners and Vietnamese companies operating in Russia and share co-operation opportunities, Hong added.
Addressing a meeting in HCM City early this week, Nguyen Canh Son, CEO of the Ha Noi-Moscow Trade Centre Investment JSC (INCENTRA) said his company would offer incentives such as free lease of booths and advertisements during the exhibition to businesses from the city to encourage them to participate in the upcoming fair.
According to trade experts, the bilateral trade between Viet Nam and Russia has not lived up to the potential and expectations of the two countries. It reached US$2.6 billion in 2014.
The FTA signed between Viet Nam and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) was expected to not only facilitate the entry of Vietnamese businesses into Russian markets but also to that of other EAEU member nations, they said.
Russia is a market with high purchasing power, where there is great demand for such products as footwear, textiles, and farm products, in addition to processed foods, wooden products and handicrafts, making it a potential export market for Viet Nam, Vietnamplus.vn quoted former Vietnamese Counsellor in Russia Nguyen Chi Tam as saying.
Once the free trade agreement takes effect at the beginning of 2016, up to 90 per cent of Vietnamese exports into Russia will enjoy tax cuts or tax exemptions, Tam said, and added that Viet Nam is the only country entitled to these incentives from the EAEU.
There are a large numbers of Vietnamese people living in Russia and Vietnamese enterprises should make use of this to make inroads into and expand their market share in the country, Tam noted.
