Representatives from VCCI and COMCE sake hands after signing the agreement. Photo vccinews.vn

HÀ NỘI — There's a lot of room for closer ties in the agriculture and seafood sectors between Việt Nam and Mexico, especially thanks to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), a meeting heard in Hà Nội on Tuesday.

Việt Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) vice chairman Đào Duy Khương said Việt Nam considers Mexico an important partner. Besides agriculture, the two sides could foster ties in tourism.

Saying Mexico was an open market, Khương added that the country could act as a bridge for Vietnamese businesses to penetrate deeper into markets in North America thanks to the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

Meanwhile, Việt Nam was an effective gate for Mexican companies to work with enterprises in the ASEAN bloc, Khuơng said.

The vice chairman suggested the establishment of a group which will be in charge of researching potential goods of the two countries so businesses can ship these products to each other's market to enhance bilateral trade. 

For his part, Sergio Ley Lopez from the Mexican Business Council for Foreign Trade (COMCE) praised Việt Nam’s achievement in economic and human development, saying Việt Nam was a lucrative market for Mexican firms.

Currently, Mexico imports a lot of farm produce from Việt Nam, typically rice and coffee, he said, adding that 70 per cent of the rice sold in Mexico was imported from Việt Nam.

In the future, it was necessary for the two business communities to seek opportunities for new products that could be exported to each other, he said.

Mexico hoped to export beef products to Việt Nam in the near future, he said, emphasising the importance of developing a process for food quarantine.

The meeting also saw a co-operation agreement on trade and investment inked between VCCI and COMCE. The two sides hoped the agreement would facilitate bilateral trade and investment co-ordination between two business communities.

Mexico is Việt Nam’s second biggest trade partner in Latin America while Việt Nam is Mexico’s eighth largest partner in Asia-Pacific. — VNS