Talks to promote Vietnam's investments

Minister of Investment Promotion Navin Dissanayake held discussions with a delegation from Vietnam headed by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Dao Viet Trung.

Dissanayake was assisted by Deputy Director General (Investment and Promotion) of the BOI A.M.C. Kulasekera and senior BOI and other government officials.

The discussions centred on the need to boost investment from Vietnam to Sri Lanka, and to expand economic relations in general. Current bilateral trade is minimal and there is US$ 10 million worth of Sri Lankan investments in Vietnam.

Both delegations agreed that there is considerable potential for upgrading the existing status quo.

Both countries have entered into a Double Taxation Agreement and are in an advanced stage of negotiations towards the signing of an Investment Protection Agreement.

Minister Dissanayake said that investments from Vietnam were very welcome, particularly for the North and the East of the country where the need for such FDI was particularly pressing.

The Vietnamese delegation said that Vietnam does have expertise in some areas, which could be of interest in the conflict affected provinces such as agriculture, agro-industries and aquaculture.

The Vietnamese Minister said that he would convey Sri Lanka's request to the Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce to start the dialogue with Sri Lanka.

One area of interest to the Vietnamese delegation was the international agreements to which Sri Lanka is a signatory such as the Indo- Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement, Pakistan- Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement and the European Union GSP+ Agreement.

The Vietnamese delegation was headed by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Dao Viet Trung, Ambassador of Vietnam to Sri Lanka Vu Quang Diem and Director General of Foreign Affairs Ministry of Vietnam Tran Hai Hau responsible for East Asia, South Asia and the South Pacific.