Sorting dragon fruit for export in Tiền Giang Province. Vietnamese dragon fruit has been licensed to be imported into India. — VNA/VNS Photo Minh Trí

NEW DELHI — Việt Nam and India’s Kerala state could cooperate in several areas such as IT, education and health care, said chairman of the FICCI Kerala State Council M. I. Sahadulla. 

During a trade exchange programme on Thursday, the chairman also highlighted similarities between Việt Nam and Kerala in pepper, cashew nut and fishery production. 

The event was co-organised by the Trade Office of the Vietnamese Embassy in India, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and authorities of India’s Kerala state. 

According to Vietnamese Ambassador to India Nguyễn Thanh Hải commerce is one of the five pillars in the bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership, with two-way trade exceeding US$15 billion for the first time last year, meeting the target set by their leaders, making India one of the eight leading trade partners of Việt Nam.

However, the figure has yet to match the potential and expectations of both sides. India makes up only around 2 per cent of Việt Nam’s total trade value, while Việt Nam accounts for some 1.5 per cent of India’s.

"Vietnamese localities and the Indian state share a lot of similarities and are reciprocal in many sectors, especially agriculture, fishery and IT," he noted.

Đỗ Quốc Hưng, deputy head of the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT)'s Department of Asia-Africa Markets, said Việt Nam and Kerala had various cooperation opportunities in navigation and other spheres thanks to their similar climate conditions.

The MoIT and the Trade Office stood ready to help businesses seek cooperation opportunities and address their concern, contributing to promoting trade between Việt Nam and India and Kerala in particular, he affirmed. — VNS