Delegates attending the business forum. VNA/VNS Photo

HCM CITY — A business forum on expanding trade cooperation between Indonesia and Việt Nam, introducing the 38th Trade Exhibition Indonesia (TEI) 2023, and learning about the Halal market was held in HCM City on Thursday.

In his opening remarks, Hồ Xuân Lam, vice president and general secretary of the HCM City Union of Friendship Organisations (HUFO), said that since Việt Nam and Indonesia set up diplomatic ties in 1955, their relations have developed strongly in all fields, with two-way trade enjoying positive growth to hit US$14.1 billion in 2022, a threefold increase compared to the figure 10 years ago.

The forum was a chance for the two sides’ enterprises to meet and seek opportunities to boost trade cooperation and nurture close friendships between the Vietnamese and Indonesian people.

Cao Thị Phi Vân, deputy director of the Hồ Chí Minh City Investment and Trade Promotion Centre, said that Indonesia, which has the largest Muslim population in the world with more than 267 million people, has the biggest demand for Halal-certified products, which is a potential market for Vietnamese businesses.

Export businesses should proactively learn about and apply for Halal certification to access this market, Vân advised.

Indonesian Consul General in HCM City Agustaviano Sofjan said that the forum provided detailed information about Halal products that have the potential to become an important economic growth driver for Indonesia with a contribution of about $5.1 billion per year.

It also helped the city’s businesses better understand the concepts of Halal and the Halal market, therefore contributing to increasing opportunities for cooperation between firms of the two countries. — VNS