DPM Hue attends Chile-VN Economic Forum

Deputy PM Vuong Dinh Hue witnesses the signing of the minutes of the third meeting of the Viet Nam-Chile free trade council - Photo: VGP/Thanh Chung

Chile was the first nation in South America establishing diplomatic ties with Viet Nam in 1971. In May 2007, the two nations set up comprehensive partnership. 

Since Viet Nam-Chile Free Trade Agreement came into effect in 2014, the two-way trade value has increased to US$1.28 billion. 

Viet Nam gained more than US$800 million from exporting footwear, garments, aquatic products, iron and steel, electronics, cement, coffee and rice to Chile and mainly imported bronze, wood, paper and wine, worth US$203 million from Chile. 

Speaking at the Chile-Viet Nam Economic Forum, Deputy PM Hue asserted that the Vietnamese Government welcomes and creates favorable conditions for the two nations’ businesses to take advantage of  the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), thus helping connect ASEAN and Latin America. 

Chilean businesses highly spoke of Viet Nam’s market, welcoming the two nations’ Governments to boost free trade and launch policy to support businesses. 

They expressed concerns about quarantine regulations on agricultural products and opportunities to enhance production in Viet Nam as well as ability to import building materials from Viet Nam and investment opportunities to invest in Chile in such areas as infrastructure, energy, agriculture and telecommunications. 

At the event, Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Vu Dai Thang, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai and Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Ha Cong Tuan answered questions raised by Chilean enterprises. 

The same day, Deputy PM Hue also witnessed the signing of the minutes of the third meeting of the Viet Nam-Chile free trade council.

They reviewed the implementation of Viet Nam-Chile Free Trade Agreement in 2016-2018 period and updated the trade exchanges between the two sides. 

Viet Nam has asked Chile to take measures to accelerate imports of agricultural-aquatic-forestry products from Viet Nam and reduce trade imbalance in this field as Viet Nam’s agricultural exports to Chile only attained US$1.75 million while Chile earned US$153 million from exporting agricultural products to Viet Nam. 

By Thuy Dung