Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Phan Thi Thang said that the Northern midlands and mountainous region are strategic locations so it is necessary to have further investments in infrastructure connecting internal regions with the capital city of Hanoi; develop industries of processing, manufacturing, energy, high-value agriculture, border economy and so on.
To promote trade and develop import-export, localities need to strengthen close coordination to come into consensus on the development of key products; promote the export of agricultural, forestry and aquatic products being strengths of the region; develop some localities in the region as centers for cultivation and processing of exported agricultural products; attract foreign direct investment; develop the export for high-tech products; build economic border zones and modernize logistics activities to support exports.
In the afternoon of the same day, the Ministry of Industry and Trade organized a conference on trade promotion between leaders of the ministry with the system of Vietnamese trade offices abroad to support import-export activities in 2024.
Director General of the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency (Vietrade) under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) Vu Ba Phu said that with over 5,000- kilometer long borderline with China, Laos and Cambodia along with its location in the central position of Southeast Asia, Vietnam possesses various advantages and strategic conditions to aspire to become the trading center of the region and a gateway connecting trade between neighboring countries and economies in Southeast Asia as well as developed economies.
According to the Director General of the Vietrade, the annual volume of goods exchanged through all road border gates has reached tens of billions dollars.
In the first two months of 2024, Vietnam's import-export turnover through road border gates with neighboring countries reached US$8.44 billion, up 28.5 percent compared to the same period in 2023.
However, cross-border trade still faces many challenges comprising obstacles in the logistics system like the lack of synchronization in international intermodal railway operation with China regarding track gauge; the variety of exported agricultural products and fruits is still very limited compared to the country's production potential; most enterprises focus on unofficial transactions instead of prioritizing official import-export.
Therefore, the conference focused on exchanging and updating market information and cross-border trade promotion opportunities, especially in localities with border gates with neighboring countries China, Laos, and Cambodia.
