Doha, Qatar: The volume of trade between Qatar and Vietnam surged by 44 percent in last ten years and ties between two countries will be enhanced further as a high-ranking delegations exchange is expected in coming months.

“The two-way trade has grown in 30 years, with the last 10 years seeing an increase of 44% in volume of trade, from QR1.4bn to more than QR2bn,” said Ambassador of Vietnam to Qatar H E Nguyen Huy Hiep.

Hiep was addressing a press conference at the Embassy premises yesterday.

The Ambassador said that the exchange between two countries would take place in the coming months which is considered as a momentum for the ministries and agencies from both Qatar and Vietnam to work on initiatives and commitments, to coordinate closely to implement them more effectively and comprehensively.

In the coming months, he said, the Vietnamese Embassy in Qatar will continue to encourage cultural cooperation, first of all promoting the signing of a memorandum of understanding on cultural and tourism cooperation during the visit to Qatar of Vietnamese Prime Minister H E Pham Minh Chinh.

“The Embassy will be also organising cultural and artistic exchange events such as photo exhibitions (expected in the first quarter of 2025); continuing to promote the expansion of Arabic language scholarship programmes and university majors in Qatar for Vietnamese students,” said Hiep.

He said that Qatar made great efforts in dealing with climate change, both on the national and international fronts, through its leading role in the Climate Change Summit in 2019, the launch of the Global Dryland Alliance to respond to the threat of desertification, and the hosting of Expo 2023 Doha to raise awareness about climate change and desertification. Environmental development is one of the main pillars of Qatar National Vision 2030.

The Ambassador said Qatar is pursuing efforts and projects in the field of clean energy, for example, the use of solar energy. He said that Vietnam highly appreciates the achievements Qatar has made in the implementation of National Vision 2030 over the past years. The Ambassador said that he will prioritise to strengthen bilateral relations in all sectors, from political and economic cooperation to labor, cultural, tourism and education ties.

“My focus will be also on deepening bilateral relations in key sectors such as energy, investment, and labour; at the same time, unlock cooperation potentials in areas such as green energy, digital transformation, and the Halal industry,” he added. “Vietnam and Qatar have enjoyed great friendship and cooperation since the establishment of their diplomatic relations in 1993, based on mutual trust and benefits,” said Hiep. He said the two countries have exchanged delegations of different levels and keep maintaining cooperation mechanisms such as political consultation between two the Foreign Ministries or the Vietnamese-Qatari Joint Commission on Economic, Commercial, and Technical Cooperation.

“Vietnam and Qatar also exchanged mutual support at international forums and organisations. Besides that, the two-way trade volume varies from around $400m to $500m from year to year,” said Hiep.

However, he said, there are still many potential areas of cooperation awaiting actions from both sides to be unlocked to further benefit the people of the two countries. “Vietnam exports to Qatar floating or submersible drilling or production platforms, machinery, smartphones, footwear, seafood, mineral fuels, rubbers, furniture, cereals, and vegetables among many more, while Qatar exports to Vietnam mainly products such as LNG, ethylene polymers, crude iron, and unwrought aluminum among others,” said Hiep. In general, he said, Vietnam can supply more products and commodities that Qatar needs, and Vietnam also has a demand to import more petrochemical products from Qatar.

“Vietnam ranks among the top 40 leading economies in the world, with the trade volume among 20 economies. Vietnam is an important link in 16 FTAs involving 60 major economies in the region and the world and the top favourite investment destination among Asia’s emerging and developing countries. That’s why Vietnam is ready and has the full potential to be a significant partner of Qatar,” said Hiep. Besides, he said, there are some areas with great development potential that the two countries can promote such as the Halal industry and Vietnamese Halal products; green energy, and related businesses (e-vehicle through the partnership between Vinfast and Qatari Company Al Mana Holding).

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