Wednesday Dec 11, 2024
Wednesday Dec 11, 2024
Saturday, 23 November 2019 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Vietnam Prasanna Gamage met with Secretary General of Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) Nguyen Quang Vinh at VCCI Headquarters in Ha Noi. The VVCI represents over 1400 leading businesses in Vietnam, located both in metropolitan and regional precincts. All the prominent business associations in the country comprise the VCCI, which employs over 1000 members of staff permanently.
At the outset, the Secretary General of VCCI wished the Ambassador a successful tenure in Viet Nam and illustrated the structure and activities of the VCCI, the only trade chamber which represents all State owned and also private business entities in Vietnam. Secretary General Nguyen recalled his productive visit to Sri Lanka in 2013 and said that he clearly understands the trade and investment potential of the two countries.
The Secretary General emphasised the fact that both Sri Lanka and Vietnam have mostly medium and small-scale business enterprises, and it is important to liaise with these entities to enhance trade cooperation between the two countries. He stated that VCCI has already signed an MoU with National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka (NCCSL) in 2011, and it should be fully implemented. As Vietnam is getting extensively integrated in to international trade through Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) such as EU- Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), and as a country which strives to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of United Nations by 2030, it is important for Vietnam to enhance cooperation with all the countries including Sri Lanka.
He further stated that even if the two countries have close ties in diplomatic relations, there is a dire need to energise business communities of both countries to work closely with each other. In order to create that mutual understanding between Sri Lanka and Vietnam, the Secretary General suggested organising a business forum either in Ha Noi or Colombo, in line with the commemoration of the 50 years of formal diplomatic relations between the two countries in 2020. The Secretary General of VCCI assured the fullest cooperation of his institution in furthering trade and investment between the two countries, and the extension of his personal attention in this regard, being a true friend of Sri Lanka.
Welcoming the productive ideas of the Secretary General of VCCI, Ambassador Gamage agreed with the proposal to organise a Business Forum next year, with the support of other line agencies in Sri Lanka such as the Department of Commerce, Sri Lanka Export Development Board, Board of Investment of Sri Lanka etc. Referring to the conclusions arrived at the recently held Second Sub Committee Meeting on Trade between Sri Lanka and Vietnam, in which representatives of the VCCI also participated, Ambassador Gamage recalled the proposed visit of a Vietnam business delegation to Sri Lanka next year, comprising manufacturers in electrical and electronics sector.
The Ambassador requested that Secretary General Nguyen lead this delegation to Sri Lanka. Ambassador Gamage further elaborated on the strengths of Sri Lanka in terms of Information Technology, Chartered Accountancy and Banking sectors, and the willingness of Sri Lanka to cooperate with Vietnam in these sectors as well. Ambassador Gamage well-wished Vietnam for a successful tenure as the chair of ASEAN in 2020, and he expressed his sincere hope that ASEAN and other partners will be able to conclude the agreement on Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) under the chairmanship of Vietnam, which will be yet another significant achievement and a tremendous boost for the regional trade/investment.
The Ambassador also emphasised that the two countries should focus on reaching the initial annual trade target of $ 1 billion, which would pave the way for subsequent enhancements of investment tourism, cooperation in the ICT and banking sectors etc.
During the meeting, the Ambassador Gamage was assisted by Third Secretary (Commercial) of the Mission Prasadi Boomalwage, and Secretary General Nguyen was assisted by VCCI International Department Director General Nguyen Van Hai, and International Department Senior Expert Dang Thi Lien.
