A delegation of more than 400 Thai businesses operating in garment-textiles and footwear are visiting Vietnam to scope out the domestic market. While in Vietnam, the businesses engaged in an exchange with hundreds of local firms in Ho Chi Minh City on August 26 to boost cooperation in the field. Malinee Harnboonsong, Commercial Councillor and Director of the Trade Centre under the Thai Consulate General in HCM City, said the Thai businesses hope to grasp local consumption demands and explore the market’s potential. According to her, Thailand’s trade and investment promotion agencies have helped their businesses study the Vietnamese market, funded their participation in fairs and exhibitions, and encouraged exchanges between the two countries’ enterprises. Many Thai firms said they have seen Vietnam’s potential in trade and investment and expect to cooperate with local partners to help spur the Southeast Asian country’s garment-textile and footwear sectors. During their trip, the Thai businesses will visit several garment-textile and footwear plants in southern localities such as HCM City and Binh Duong and Dong Nai provinces. Nguyen The Hung, Deputy Director of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s HCM City branch, said Thai products are popular in Vietnam and more Vietnamese goods are present in the Thai market. He urged the two countries’ businesses to step up their cooperation and fully tap their potential and advantages, especially in the garment-textile and footwear sectors, as Vietnam, Thailand and other ASEAN countries are doubling their efforts in preparation for the formation of the ASEAN Community with its dual opportunities and challenges. Trade turnover between Vietnam and Thailand reached 10.6 billion USD in 2014, a year-on-year rise of 12.5 percent. In the first half of this year, the figure stood at about 5.2 billion USD, up 8 percent against the same time last year. The two countries are striving to raise bilateral trade value to 20 billion USD in 2020.-VNA