Representatives from as many as 100 Cambodian and Vietnamese companies gathered in Phnom Penh to seek agricultural investment opportunities between the two countries.
Participants listened to reports on trade and cooperation opportunities in agriculture, forestry, aquaculture and seafood, delivered by representatives from both Governments
They discussed Vietnam ’s production capacity, supply of machinery, equipment and materials in agro-forestry and aquaculture, and investment between the two countries.
Cambodian Secretary of State for Trade, Mao Thora, spoke highly of the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade’s initiative to hold the “Vietnam-Cambodia Agriculture Cooperation Exchange Forum” and the meeting on trade in agro-forestry-aquaculture between the two countries’ firms.
They help raise the value of two-way trade between Vietnam and Cambodia , Thora said. It is an opportunity for both countries’ businesses to seek investment partners, and state management agencies to get feedback on agricultural investment and cooperation challenges, added Thora.
Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, Ha Cong Tuan, said apart from offering businesses the prospect to increase their understanding and assess their cooperation capacity, the events are expected to help companies progress in their business in the coming time.
Vietnam-Cambodia bilateral trade has grown on average by 32.5 percent over the last ten years. In 2011, the value of trade was 2.8 billion USD, an increase of 55 percent from the previous year.
Vietnam primarily exports fertilisers, mechanical tools, seafood, vegetables and food, and imports timber, rice, sliced cassava, cashew nuts and rubber latex.
Also in Phnom Penh , 37 Vietnamese firms displayed their agricultural and forestry products and seafood at an import-export fair held by the Cambodian Ministry of Trade on December 15.
The four-day expo, the seventh of its kind, drew the participation of more than 200 companies from 20 nations.