HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam’s enterprises should promote the transfer of technology from Israel to develop their businesses and also increase trade promotion activities to this market.

Lê Thái Hòa, deputy director of the Asia-Africa Market Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said this at a seminar on trade promotion to Israel held by the Ministry of Industry and Trade in Hà Nội on Thursday. The seminar was aimed at updating Vietnamese enterprises with information about the Israeli market.

Hòa said in the field of agriculture, Israel is one of the countries with a developed agricultural sector so, Việt Nam can become a potential market for Israeli enterprises in the fields of manufacturing and production of high-tech agricultural machinery.

Key export products of Việt Nam will have the chance to enter the Israeli market, especially agricultural products such as rice, coffee, tea, and pepper, as well as furniture, garments and shoes.

Israel is an easy market but it still needs quality goods. The market does not have many customers, but their income is quite high. Consumers in this market segment demand high quality and reasonably priced goods, he said.

To enter the market quickly and efficiently, Vietnamese enterprises should participate in trade fairs. This is the best way for Israeli consumers to discover Vietnamese products, Hòa said.

In addition, local businesses need to coordinate with relevant agencies to organise advertisement programmes, trade promotions and seminars to advertise Vietnamese goods.

Lê Hoàng Tài, deputy head of the Việt Nam Trade Promotion Agency, said that since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1993, the two countries have established cooperative relations in many fields.

The bilateral trade value of Việt Nam and Israel increased from US$68 million in 2005 to some $1 billion in 2017, Tài said. Of this, Việt Nam exported goods and services worth $700 million to Israel and saw imports worth $345 million from Israel.

By 2017, Israel had 26 direct investment projects in Việt Nam, with a total capital of over $47 million, ranking 11th out of 56 countries and territories investing in Việt Nam. These include seven projects in the manufacturing and processing industry with a total capital of some $25 million.

Meanwhile, Israel has committed to providing a $250 million credit package to Vietnamese businesses in the near future. — VNS