OREANDA-NEWS. May 14, 2010. Belarus intends to expand economic cooperation with Vietnam, Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus Andrei Kobyakov said at the Belarusian-Vietnamese Business Forum in Minsk on 14 May.

“The visit of the high Vietnamese delegation to Belarus and the results of the talks at the high level attest to the friendly relations between the peoples of the two countries,” Andrei Kobyakov said. Owing to the efficient cooperation in the international arena and mutual confidence we count on intensification of the economic cooperation, the official underscored.

Speaking about the development of the trade and economic cooperation between Belarus and Vietnam, Andrei Kobyakov noted that recently the trade between the two countries has increased several times. Both the countries have laid a solid foundation for further developing the cooperation. In 2009 despite the global crisis Belarus and Vietnam managed to intensify the cooperation in some areas including the machine building. All in all, in 2009, the Belarus-Vietnam trade downed by 7.7% to USD 115 million. The trade turnover falls below the potential of Belarus and Vietnam, believes Andrei Kobyakov. At the same time, both the countries have good opportunities to boost the bilateral trade, he noted.