India to boost service and investment cooperation with Vietnam

He told Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang at a reception in New Dehli on November 1 that two-way trade between the two countries would reach US$7 billion by 2015, as India and ASEAN already signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in 2010.

Many banks in India are planning to open branches in Vietnam to facilitate bilateral trade and investment cooperation, he said.

Minister Sharma, however, was still concerned about the slow progress of site clearance for construction of a steel manufacturing factory of India-based Tata Steel in Ha Tinh, Central Vietnam.

He said India is planning to hold an India Show in Vietnam with the participation of more than 100 Indian businesses and also expecting Vietnamese enterprises to join the Indian-ASEAN Business Fair in India next month.

Two-way trade between Vietnam and India has enjoyed constant growth from US$3.451 billion in 2010 to US$5.017 in 2011 and US$3.886 billion in the first nine months of 2012.

During State President Truong Tan Sang’s visit to India in October last year, Vietnam Airlines and India Jet Airways signed a Memorandum of Understanding on comprehensive cooperation in opening direct air routes between the two countries in the near future.