HÀ NỘI — A seminar “The Pacific Alliance (PA) and Việt Nam in the global context” was held in Hà Nội on Monday, aiming to support Việt Nam’s role as the ASEAN co-ordinator with the alliance.

The event also looked to promote co-operation, trade and investment opportunities between the PA and Việt Nam.

The Pacific Alliance, established in 2011, is a trade bloc comprised of Chile, Columbia, Mexico and Peru. It aims to move towards free movement of goods, services, resources and people; driving growth of the members’ economies.

Vũ Quang Minh, assistant minister of foreign affairs, said that economic and trade relations between Việt Nam and the PA’s members had increased, with an impressive average annual growth rate of 15-20 per cent.

In 2016, trade turnover of Việt Nam and the PA reached more than US$7 billion, accounting for 50 per cent of the country’s total trade volume with Latin America.

Việt Nam and PA countries also co-operate in fields such as science and technology, climate change, agricultural development, animal husbandry, aquaculture, tourism, public transport and infrastructure.

As a co-ordinator between ASEAN and the Pacific Alliance in 2017, Việt Nam agreed to work with ASEAN and PA members to implement activities listed in a framework document between the two groups, Minh added.

Đinh Xuân Toàn, chairman of Rabomark - a Vietnamese quinoa importer, highlighted the benefits working with the PA brings to local enterprises, for example, tariff cuts of 92 per cent in some cases and easy access to information on suppliers.

Việt Nam’s telecommunications firms also have big opportunities in the PA and Peru in particular through working with big local firms.

“Latin America is a potential market for Viettel on the way to reach further, especially in the fierce competition in Peru’s telecommunications industry,” said Nguyễn Việt Dũng, deputy general director of Viettel Global Investment Joint Stock Company at the event.

Dũng said Viettel had 2.5 million subscribers in Peru after two years of operation. In 2016, Viettel accounted for more than 10 per cent of market share in Peru, a year-on-year rise of 7 per cent.

Viettel proposed Peru’s Government and PA authorities support the company’s projects with policies, procedures and provide appropriate payment methods for foreign enterprises, Dũng said.

The event was attended by high-ranking officials from Chile, Columbia, Mexico, Peru and Việt Nam, embassies’ representatives and Vietnamese enterprises interested in doing business in Latin America.

The seminar is part of the Pacific Alliance week held in Hà Nội from May 22 to 28. — VNS