Vietnam Wants M’sia To Open Industrial Park, Lead Halal Market

By Azizul Ahmad KUALA LUMPUR, May 26 (Bernama) -- Vietnam wants Malaysian companies to establish an industrial park and lead the halal market in the country, said Vietnamese Ambassador to Malaysia Pham Cao Phong. Such efforts are necessary to enhance economic cooperation and increase trade between the two countries in order to achieve a trade volume of US$15 billion by 2020, he told Bernama after presenting a lecture at the "ASEAN Ambassadors Lecture Series 1/2016" here Thursday (US$1=RM4.08). "While we have more investments from Malaysia, we welcome an industrial park run by a Malaysian company, particularly to do processing industries in Vietnam. "We also need Malaysians to assist in issuing halal certificates for products from Vietnam," he said. He said assisting Vietnam in the halal venture would not only benefit bilateral trade, but Malaysia can also serve as a gateway for Vietnamese products going to Arab countries. Trade volume between the two countries can be improved further by increasing trade, enhancing the quantity of the current commodities, trading in new commodities and enhancing the production of the commodities traded, he noted. He said although trade with Malaysia is currently balanced, Vietnam previously had a little deficit. "Unfortunately for the last two years due to lower prices of crude oil and rubber, trade revenue between our two countries was affected. "Quantities were increased but the revenue was a little bit less. In 2013 we achieved more than US$9 billion but last year it was just a little over US$8 billion. Both countries are trying their best to achieve the US$15 billion trade volume target for 2020," he said. Pham said joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) would bring not only a lot of benefits but also challenges to Vietnam. "Vietnam achieved 6.85 per cent Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth last year, and we hope to maintain this growth rate in the years to come. "Some studies say the TPPA can increase Vietnam’s GDP growth rate by up to 30 per cent. Surely, the TPPA will bring benefits to all signees," he said. In his lecture on ‘Vietnam’s economic security’, Pham said Vietnam's 'Doi Moi' (Renovation) policy changed the country's centrally planned economy to a socialist-oriented market economy in 1990, opening up the country to the world economy. "The integration into the world market has not only helped Vietnam develop its national economy but also brought new challenges to the country's security. "The more we open, the more challenges there would be. We have to tailor our policies in order to face the challenges,” he said. -- BERNAMA