HCM CITY — Belarus not only wants to export its products to Việt Nam, but also transfer technologies and establish joint production plants in Việt Nam with local firms, a bilateral business forum heard in HCM City on Thursday.

Speaking at the first ever meeting of the Việt Nam-Belarus Business Council and the Việt Nam-Belarus Business Forum, Belarus’ Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food Igor Brylo said Việt Nam is a traditional trade partner for his country in Asia.

The 2016 free trade agreement between the Eurasian Economic Union and Việt Nam has boosted investment and trade between the two countries significantly, he said.

Võ Tân Thành, director of the Việt Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s HCM City office, said last year bilateral trade rose 7 per cent to US$101 million.

The two countries are making efforts to increase it to $500 million as agreed by their governments, he said.

In 2016 Belarusian-Vietnamese joint venture “MAZ Asia”, Belarus’s first investment in this country, was licensed in Hưng Yên Province.

It has finished construction of a plant and expects to produce 1,500 Maz trucks a year in the first phase, Thành said.

“Belarus firms also plan to invest in some other projects in manufacturing and dairy and set up a bus assembly plant in Việt Nam,” he said.

As the country’s economic hub, HCM City is a promising location for Belarusian businesses, he said.

Denis Nikolaev, trade counselor at the Belarussian embassy, said his country has set up joint production plants in Việt Nam, transferred technology and trained human resources.

“Belarus is willing to shift from pure sales of goods to Việt Nam to technology transfer and setting up joint production plants,” Brylo said.

Besides, Việt Nam could act as a gateway for Belarus to ASEAN markets while his country could be one of the gateways for Vietnamese goods such as seafood, tea, coffee, and others to penetrate the Eurasian Economic Union, he said.

Andrei Shakhanovich, deputy chairman of the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said 60 leading businesses, which are showcasing their products at the 2018 Việt Nam Expo in HCM City and participating the forum, hope to find new partners in HCM City.

“We promise to make more efforts to promote co-operation between businesses of the two countries.”

Nguyễn Quang Hùng, chairman of the Việt Nam-Belarus Council, expressed the hope that many Vietnamese and Belarusian firms would explore trade, investment, science and technology, and tourism opportunities.

The council would be a good channel for dialogue between businesses and government agencies of the two sides, he said.

At the same time the council would help find solutions to difficulties faced by enterprises doing business in the other country, he said.

The event was organised by the VCCI and the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. — VNS