Officials from Việt Nam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) and the UAE Ministry of Economy have agreed to speed up the negotiation for a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) between the two countries.

Receiving Minister of State for Foreign Trade at the UAE Ministry of Economy Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Hà Nội on January 24, MoIT Minister Nguyễn Hồng Diên hailed the Vietnam- UAE economic and trade cooperation in recent years.

The two countries have been expanding cooperation in many fields, notably the launch of their negotiation for Vietnam-UAE CEPA, he said.

Appreciating the efforts and results that the negotiation delegations of the two countries have made, the two officials discussed measures to address issues in which the two sides have different points of view.

Regarding bilateral cooperation, Minister Diên called on the UAE side to consider and facilitate business delegation exchanges and coordinate to organise trade promotion activities. He also proposed the UAE businesses to invest in Việt Nam in some areas of mutual interest.

In the coming time, the two sides agreed to cooperate more closely to speed up the Vietnam - UAE CEPA negotiation process and conclude it soon.

Currently, the UAE is the largest export market and the second-largest trade partner of Việt Nam in West Asia (after Kuwait).

In 2023, Việt Nam’s exports to the UAE reached over US$4 billion and its imports from this market hit over $676 million, marking a year-on-year increase of 4.3 per cent and 16 per cent respectively.

Việt Nam’s main exports to the UAE include mobile phones, computers and components, electrical products, household electronics, pepper, seafood, footwear, textiles, grain products, plastic, and wooden furniture. It imports are raw plastics, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), petroleum products, animal feed materials, metals, and chemicals.

Viet Nam News