MoIT leader meets Saudi Ambassador to Vietnam
Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien met Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to Vietnam Mohammed Ismaeil A. Dahlwy on April 20 in Vietnam’s capital Hanoi.
The two parties discussed cooperation in trade, industry and energy. Minister Dien said Vietnam highly values the role and position of Saudi Arabia in the Middle East and considers it an important partner. The Minister expressed his delight at the results achieved in bilateral trade relations, including the growing trade over the past two years, despite the COVID-19 pandemic and the global economy’s adverse changes.
Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien (right) and Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to Vietnam Mohammed Ismaeil A. Dahlwy
In order to further promote bilateral cooperation in trade and other fields, Minister Dien urged Saudi Arabia to lift its ban on the imports of seafood from Vietnam. Saudi Arabia decided to temporarily suspend fishery imports from Vietnam in January 2018, after a delegation of regulators found that a number of Vietnamese facilities failed to meet Saudi hygiene requirements. The ban has since been lifted in part.
Dien also proposed that the two sides coordinate to implement the protocol on oil, gas and mineral cooperation signed in April 2010 and create favorable conditions for Vietnamese petroleum and gas companies.
The two sides are also considering stronger cooperation in the field of construction, high-tech human resources, technology transfer, and supply of machinery, means of transportation, spare parts and building materials. Vietnam encourages Saudi Arabian investment in energy, energy infrastructure, industry, high technology, and innovation, among other fields. The two sides will consider cooperation on Halal certification so that Vietnamese enterprises can access the Saudi market of goods and services.
The April 20 meeting in Hanoi between Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien and Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to Vietnam Mohammed Ismaeil A. Dahlwy
Ambassador Dahlwy affirmed that Vietnam is a priority partner in Saudi Arabia's “Look East” policy in Asia, saying his country wishes to promote cooperation with Vietnam through specific and practical activities. To achieve that goal, the Ambassador affirmed the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade’s important role in promoting bilateral trade, industrial and energy cooperation.
Ambassador Dahlwy said he would work closely with the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade and relevant domestic agencies to promote the resolution of issues raised by the Vietnamese side. The joint committee mechanism plays an important role in promoting cooperation in different fields, he said. The Ambassador said he expects that the fifth meeting of the Vietnam-Saudi Arabia Joint Committee on Economic, Scientific and Technological Cooperation will be held in Hanoi in the third quarter of 2023 in order to strengthen cooperation, especially in the field of trade and industry.
The Ambassador said Saudi Arabia wishes to further strengthen bilateral trade cooperation in a balanced, sustainable manner.
