VN, Mexico plan to boost ties in seafood, agricultural sectors
THERE’S a lot of room for closer ties in the agriculture and seafood sectors between Vietnam and Mexico, especially thanks to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for TransPacific Partnership, a meeting heard in Hanoi on Tuesday.
Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) vice chairman Dao Duy Khuong said Vietnam considers Mexico an important partner. Besides agriculture, the two sides could foster ties in tourism.
Saying Mexico was an open market, Khuong added that the country could act as a bridge for Vietnamese businesses to penetrate deeper into markets in North America thanks to the US-MexicoCanada Agreement.
Meanwhile, Vietnam was an effective gateway for Mexican companies to work with enterprises in the Asean bloc, Khuong said.
The vice chairman suggested the establishment of a group which will be in charge of researching potential goods of the two countries so businesses can ship these products to each other’s market to enhance bilateral trade.
For his part, Mexican Business Council for Foreign Trade (Consejo Empresarial
Mexicano de Comercio Exterior Inversion y Tecnologia AC, Comce) Asia-Pacific president and career diplomat Sergio Ley Lopez praised Vietnam’s achievement in economic and human development, saying the country was a lucrative market for Mexican firms.
Currently, Mexico imports a lot of farm produce from Vietnam, typically rice and coffee, he said, adding that 70 per cent of the rice sold in Mexico was imported from the country.
In the future, it was necessary for the two business communities to seek opportunities for new products that could be exported to each other, he said.
Mexico hoped to export beef products to Vietnam in the near future, he said, emphasising the importance of developing a process for food quarantine.
The meeting also saw a cooperation agreement on trade and investment inked between VCCI and Comce. The two sides hoped the agreement would facilitate bilateral trade and investment coordination between two business communities.
Mexico is Vietnam’s second biggest trade partner in Latin America while Vietnam is Mexico’s eighth largest partner in the Asia-Pacific region.