Vietnam-Azerbaijan intergovernmental committee convenes second meeting

The second meeting of the Vietnam-Azerbaijan intergovernmental committee on economic, trade, scientific and technical cooperation took place in Baku, Azerbaijan, under the co-chair of Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade, Tran Tuan Anh, and Azerbaijan’s Energy Minister, Parviz Shahbazov.

The two sides reviewed the outcomes achieved since the first meeting held in Hanoi in January 2017 and agreed to maintain and effectively promote the meeting mechanism in order to boost bilateral cooperation across all spheres, on the basis of tapping into the strengths and meeting the demands of each country.

They also stressed the need to strengthen the exchange of business and official delegations at all levels in the time ahead to increase mutual understanding and fully grasp the market, while actively participating in fairs and exhibitions and establishing trade partnerships to create favourable conditions for their enterprises.

Both sides agreed on the necessity of stepping up the research and implementation of investment opportunities in the fields of energy and oil, including the provision of support for Azerbaijani partners of the Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PVN).

At the meeting. (Photo: AZERTAC)

During his stay in Azerbaijan, Minister Tran Tuan Anh met with Azerbaijani Prime Minister Novruz Mamedov, who voiced his fine feelings towards Vietnam and its people, and spoke of his desire to strengthen the traditional friendly relations in all aspects between Vietnam and Azerbaijan in the time ahead.

According to statistics provided by the General Department of Vietnam Customs, in the 2013-2014 period, Azerbaijan posted the third largest import-export revenues with Vietnam among the former Soviet Union countries, behind Russia and Ukraine. Two-way trade reached US$251.75 million in 2017, with Vietnam exporting roughly US$1.29 million worth of goods and importing around US$250.45 million worth of commodities.

Vietnam’s main exports to Azerbaijan were phones and parts, computers and computer products, while imports from the country were mostly crude oil and oil products.