Myanmar, Vietnam seek improved ties

MYANMAR: Vietnam and Myanmar are seeking increased economic and trade cooperation and a meeting on the move between a Vietnamese ministerial delegation and officials of a Myanmar’s biggest business organization has taken place recently in Yangon, according to official media report Wednesday.

The discussions between the Vietnamese delegation, led by Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Thanh Bien, and the Myanmar delegation, led by President of the Union of Myanmar Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI) U Win Myint, covered matters relating to economic and trade opportunities and cooperation between the two countries, exchanging of delegations, study of agricultural technology, trade and investment, said the New Light of Myanmar. Last month, some Vietnamese entrepreneurs visited Myanmar, holding that they wanted to put a first hand into the Myanmar market in the light of Myanmar’s foreseen political and economic evolution ahead although its current investment in Myanmar reached merely 0.15 percent of the total, the UMFCCI was quoted as saying.

According to the official statistics, Vietnam’s investment in Myanmar hit 23.4 million US dollars in nearly 21 years up to the end of May this year.

Vietnam stands the 16th among Myanmar’s exporting countries. Myanmar mainly exported its forestry products to Vietnam, followed by agricultural produces, seafood and electrical spare parts, while it imported from Vietnam steel, electronic goods, pharmaceuticals, medicines, industrial products, chemical products, computer and accessories, plastic, cosmetics and engine oil.

Xinhua