Viet Nam, Israel to sign trade deal this year

The announcement was made at a working session between Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien and Israeli Minister of Economy and Industry Nir Barkat during the former's ongoing visit to Israel.

Minister Nguyen said that, with a mutually complementary economic structure and strong growth in two-way trade turnover, Viet Nam and Israel would gain more benefits when the incentives and advantages from trade deal are effectively utilized.

He suggested the two sides step up coordination and delegation exchange to seek and promote cooperation opportunities in trade and investment. 

Nguyen encouraged Israel's businesses to invest in Viet Nam in such areas as industry, high-tech agriculture, IT, green production and industrial infrastructure.

The Vietnamese minister also called on Israel to share its experience and technology in the digital economy, transformation, and energy transition.

For his part, Minister Nir Barkat agreed to continue with cooperation and exchange activities between the two ministries, as well as trade promotion programs to facilitate the operation of their enterprises, enabling them to optimize the VIFTA once it is put into place.

With the official conclusion of negotiations, Viet Nam and Israel will soon conduct the final internal and legal work to prepare for the signing of VIFTA, which is expected in 2023 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Israel is Viet Nam's third-biggest importer and fifth-largest trade partner in West Asia. Last year, the bilateral trade reached US$2.2 billion, up 17.9 percent year-on-year, of which Viet Nam's export was valued at US$785.7 million, and its import hit US$1.4 billion./.