Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung says that Vietnam and Israel should hold discussions on a possible bilateral free trade agreement to accelerate two-way trade between the nations.
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung says that Vietnam and Israel should hold discussions on a possible bilateral free trade agreement to accelerate two-way trade between the nations.
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| Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung with Israel Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Yair Shamir |
Meeting with visiting Israel Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Yair Shamir in Hanoi on October 31, PM Dung urged the prompt formation of a joint committee to boost co-operation between the two countries.
He expressed his hope that Israel continue its ODA provision to Vietnam, focusing on human resources training, infrastructure development and climate change response.
He said the two sides should work to strengthen co-operation on the application of high technology in agriculture and telecommunications. The PM pledged that the Vietnam Government will create all possible conditions for Israeli enterprisesto invest in these sectorsin Vietnam.
Hailing the outcomes of talks between Yair Shamir and his Vietnam counterpart Cao Duc Phat, PM Dung said there is room for both sides to co-operate, especially in science and technology, agriculture, defence and security, trade, and investment.
Therefore, he said, both countries should work more closely together to speed up co-operation in areas of each side’s strengths for mutually practical benefits.
In reply, Yair Shamir said his visit aims to foster investment co-operation between the two countries, especially in agriculture.
Expressing his delight with the co-operation results between the two countries over the past year, the Israel minister said the two sides should design a more favourable legal framework to bolster their co-operation as two-way trade could increase rapidly in the future from the current figure of over US$1billion.
He proposed that aside fromco-ordinating in agriculture, Vietnam and Israel should also expand their co-operation in pharmaceuticals, high technology, chemicals, fertiliser production, and development co-operation.
The same day, Vice Chairwoman of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan also hosted a reception for Israel Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Yair Shamir.
She asked both sides to increase exchanges of delegations at all level, share experience in parliamentary work, and strengthen people-to-people exchange so as to push up mutual understanding between the two legislative bodies and peoples.
The NA Vice Chairwoman also voiced her hope that Israel continue to support Vietnam in high-tech and bio-technology application in agriculture.
For his part, Minister Shamir said his visit aims to discuss ways to foster agricultural co-operation between the two countries, in parallel with talking with Israeli strategic firms in Vietnam.
He highlighted co-operation in agriculture, especially high-tech agriculture, which always plays an important role in the two sides’ relations, asserting that Israel will continue to help Vietnam improve workers’ professional knowledge as well as apply advanced techniques so that it can obtain higher output.
He also expressed his delight at expanding co-operation in education and pharmaceuticals in order to contribute to improving Vietnam-Israel bilateral ties.
