HCM City (VNA) – A number of recommendations to boost trade and investment between Thailand and Ho Chi Minh City were put forward at a forum held in the southern city on July 8.

The Vietnam-Thailand relations have seen remarkable progress in multiple areas, from politics, economy to culture and people-to-people exchange, Vo Van Hoan, Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee told the Thailand-HCM City Business Connection Forum.

Thailand remains Vietnam’s largest trade partner in ASEAN, he said, adding that Thailand is also Vietnam’s ninth biggest investor with more than 600 projects which have total registered investment of over 13 billion USD.

He highlighted HCM City as a major partner of Thailand, given that trade between the two sides exceeded 2.8 billion USD in 2021. Thailand currently operates 235 projects worth around 482 million USD, ranking 12th among foreign investors in the Vietnamese southern economic hub. Most of Thai-invested projects are in mechanics, chemistry, food, construction materials, tourism, warehouse and logistics.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Thailand Phan Chi Thanh said there are hundreds of thousand Vietnamese people living in Thailand who are acting as a catalyst for the bilateral relations to grow further.

Vietnamese investors are running about 1,000 businesses, mostly small- and medium-sized, in Thailand, Thanh said, noting that they mainly specialise in industry, agriculture, food processing, export-import, goods distribution, logistics, services, construction, hospitality and others.

There is plenty of room left for the two countries to step up trade, investment and tourism, he emphasised, recommending both sides to strengthen direct economic linkages between their localities and enterprises.

The diplomat suggested the establishment of a network for distribution of Vietnamese goods in Thailand and a similar one of Thailand in HCM City; and that the two sides should cooperate to launch tours connecting their destinations.

Ho Van Lam, Chairman of the Thailand-Vietnam Business Association, urged HCM City to continue organising promotion events to enable Thai major groups, enterprises and people and Vietnamese expats to seek partnership with those in the city. At the same time, the city must provide information regarding investment incentives and procedures for Thai investors and traders on a regular basis, he added./.