The Belarus-Vietnam Business Forum Opens New Horizons for Trade and Economic Cooperation

The Belarus-Vietnam Business Forum took place in Minsk, organized by the Minsk branch of the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency. This event made a practical contribution to the development of strategic partnership between the two countries, gathering representatives from over 100 companies: around 80 from Belarus and 22 from Vietnam.

A key moment of the forum was signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Minsk branch of the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency, which laid the groundwork for deepening business contacts.

The forum was opened by Irina Ivanova, Deputy General Director for Foreign Economic Relations at the Minsk branch of the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. She noted the significant interest of Belarusian businesses in the Vietnamese market and emphasized that the main goal of the event was to identify specific pathways for implementing joint projects.

Welcoming remarks were made to the participants by:

·         Mr. Nguyen Van Chung, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to the Republic of Belarus, who pointed out the substantial untapped potential for economic cooperation between the two countries.

·         Mr. Hoang Minh Chinh, Deputy General Director of the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency.

As part of the business program, the following speakers presented:

·         Elizaveta Ostrovskaya, an investment specialist from the National Agency for Investments and Privatization, shared with her Vietnamese colleagues the investment potential of Belarus, along with opportunities, conditions, and peculiarities of entering the Belarusian market.

·         Mr. Chinh Suan Hieu, the trade representative of the Embassy of Vietnam in Belarus, discussed the current state and prospects of trade cooperation between the two countries.

·         Igor Bobko, Director of Eastern Company LLC, shared successful practical experiences in importing goods from Vietnam and conducting business.

The Vietnamese delegation included representatives from companies interested in supplying a wide range of goods to Belarus: agricultural products, food, industrial equipment, cable products, auto parts, pharmaceuticals, wooden products and furniture, as well as consumer goods and telecommunications services.

Following the plenary session, bilateral negotiations took place among entrepreneurs, conducted in a productive business atmosphere that allowed for the establishment of promising contacts.