Speeding up the multi-facetedcooperation with Saudi Arabia , especially in oil and gas, agriculture,investment, trade and labour, is one of Vietnam ’s priorities in itsforeign policy towards the Middle East.

So said President of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry(VCCI) Vu Tien Loc at the Vietnam-Saudi Arabia Business Forum held inHanoi on May 27.

In the coming time, through the Inter-governmental CooperationCommittee, the two countries will create a favourable legal foundationfor their businesses to expand trade and investment activities as wellas boost information exchange, he added.

Saudi Arabian Ambassador to Vietnam Salal Ahmed Sarhan and Presidentof the Saudi Arabia Chamber of Commerce and Industry Mahak Tolal A.Mirzasaid the trade and investment cooperation between the two countriesremains modest so a visit to Vietnam by a Saudi Arabian businessdelegation is expected to pave the way for enterprises of the two sidesto explore each other’s potentials as well as exchange views onbilateral cooperation in industry, trade and investment.

The Saudi Arabian delegation, including representatives of 11businesses operating in such fields as construction, home electricappliance, transport service, real estate, industry and energy, hasvisited Vietnam from May 26-29 to survey and promote investment inthe Southeast Asian market.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), two-way tradebetween Vietnam and Saudi Arabia has continuously increased overthe past years, reaching over 455 million USD in 2009 despite theimpacts of the global economic crisis.

The ministry also said that Saudi Arabia is a large market in theMiddle East with its high payment capacity and huge demand forcommodities that are Vietnam ’s strengths.

Through the country, Vietnamese goods have a chance to enter otherMiddle East markets and vice versa Vietnam serves as a bridge forSaudi Arabia ’s products to be exported to the ASEAN market.

Vietnam mainly exports garment, seafood, computers, electroniccomponents, woodwork, iron and steel to Saudi Arabia while importingraw plastics, chemicals, autos and animal feed from this market.

In addition to trade and investment ties, the two countries have alsostrengthened their cooperation in labour. At present, around 20,000Vietnamese workers are working in Saudi Arabia./.