The meeting was co-chaired by Additional Secretary of the Department of Commerce Shri Rajesh Agrawal (Ministry of Commerce & Industry of India) and Deputy Minister Phan Thi Thang (Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam). It was held after a gap of more than four years since the 4th JTSC meeting held in January 2019, on account of COVID-19 pandemic and other factors.

Additional Secretary of the Department of Commerce Shri Rajesh Agrawal (Ministry of Commerce & Industry of India) (left) and Deputy Minister Phan Thi Thang (Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam) signed the meeting minutes.

Speaking about the importance of the 5th JTSC meeting, Deputy Minister Phan Thi Thang affirmed that the discussion will focus on finding necessary measures to remove trade barriers, especially for major sectors, and to create favorable business conditions for enterprises of the two countries. Thereby, it will contribute to promoting bilateral cooperation between the two countries.

The Indian co-host Rajesh Agrawal added that since the 4th meeting of JTSC in 2019 in Hanoi, there have been many positive changes in the bilateral trade. For instance, in the fiscal year 2022-2023, Vietnam is India's 23rd largest trading partner globally and 5th among ASEAN countries with a total trade turnover of US $14.70 billion. Total trade turnover with Vietnam accounts for 11.02% of India's total turnover with ASEAN countries.

Vietnam is an important import partner of India for iron and steel products and agricultural products including frozen meat, seafood, cereals and feed ingredients, said Rajesh Agrawal.

The two sides agreed that the 5th meeting should continue to help the business communities of the two sides exploit the benefits of cooperation between the two fastest growing economies in the world.

Resolving major issues through regular and sustained bilateral discussions

The 5th India-Vietnam Joint Trade Sub-Commission meeting was held in New Delhi on August 8.

The main concerns from the Vietnam' side included: boosting cooperation towards a higher goal of sustainable trade; exploring ways to unlock the vast untapped potential. Deputy Minister Phan Thi Thang said that priority should be given to production and trade for each party's major industries as textiles, processed agricultural and aquatic products; industrial goods; fodder. There is much potential in medicine; electronic components…as well. The two sides need to take advantage of the complementary factors in the structure of goods, ensuring no disruption to the supply chain.

Meanwhile, the Indian side proposed more cooperation in the fields of technology - information, financial services, education, tourism, healthcare, telemedicine (telemedicine), medical tourism and ecosystem. They also suggested mutual recognition arrangements (MRAs) on professional services, internationalization of RuPay card, QR based payment system, and domestic currency trade settlement.

Logistics challenges were highlighted to be one of the biggest barriers affecting bilateral trade and agreed to continue efforts for exploring direct shipping services, collaboration in freight movement and improving air connectivity. Also, both sides identified potential trade sectors such as agriculture, fisheries, textiles, footwear, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, fertilizers, machinery and equipment, consumer products, energy and automobile industry.

The meeting's conclusion stated that both sides agreed to work together to resolve market access issues and technical barriers faced by the exporters through regular and sustained bilateral discussions.

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