Viet Nam wants Oman to invest in its oil and
gas, infrastructure and industrial zones, said State President Nguyen Minh Triet.

Photo: Vietnam+

Triet made the statement at a reception for
Oman Minister of Commerce and Industry Maqbool Ali Sultan in Ha Noi yesterday, Jan 10.

The two countries have many opportunities
to accelerate co-operation in politics, economics, commerce and investment,
Triet said.

He affirmed that Viet Nam would create
favourable conditions and assist Oman investors in the country.

Ali Sultan expressed his wish to boost
bilateral ties with Viet Nam, particularly in commerce, investment and
construction.

Oman had a US$40 million co-operation
project with Viet Nam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) and was
conducting surveys on other projects, the minister said.

A $100 million Viet Nam-Oman investment
company has been set up, while the Oman Oil Company is looking into co-operating
with PetroVietnam on a fertiliser project.

The Omani minister said experts would be
sent to Viet Nam to seek investment opportunities and promote bilateral ties.

Solid framework

The same day, Viet Nam and Oman signed an
agreement on the encouragement and mutual protection of capital investment
between the two countries.

Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen
Hong Phuc said the agreement would create a solid legal framework for investment
and build investor faith in both countries.

The signing will also boost bilateral
investment between Viet Nam and Oman, he said.

The Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and
Industry (VCCI) and its Omani counterpart yesterday launched the Viet Nam-Oman
Business Council.

VCCI Vice Chairman Doan Duy Khuong said the
council would act as a bridge between both countries’ enterprises for the
exchange of information on economics, trade and investment policies.

The council would collect opinions and
propose initiatives to the two countries’ governments to overcome difficulties
and develop bilateral relations.

In recent years, two-way turnover has risen
but remains limited. Last year bilateral trade stood at US$25.3 million. It is
expected to reach $37.9 million in the first 11 months of this year. Of that,
$7.7 million is expected to come from Vietnamese exports.

Oman is regarded as a potential labour
market for Vietnamese workers as 70 per cent of its work force are foreign. Oman
has said it wishes to co-operate with Viet Nam in finance, gasoline, services,
construction, hotels and thermo-electricity

Food for oil

The
Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Omani
Ministry of Commerce and Industry agreed to promote friendly
relations and multi-faceted co-operation at the first meeting of the Viet
Nam-Oman Joint Commission in Ha Noi yesterday.

At the meeting, Viet Nam pledged to supply
cooking to Oman and expressed its hope that Oman would supply crude oil and natural
gas to Viet Nam.

Viet Nam also asked Oman to consider
signing agreements on customs, mutual recognition on standards and pacts on
maritime transport and food safety. Meanwhile, Oman said it hoped Viet Nam would
ratify a visa-exemption agreement for diplomatic passport holders.

Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang
said the two sides signed a double taxation avoidance agreement, an
investment-protection agreement and had established the Viet Nam-Oman Business
Council.

With an important legal framework in place,
co-operation between the two sides would reach new heights, he said.

The minister asked Oman to create
favourable conditions for Vietnamese enterprises to invest in the Gulf country,
especially in the fields of energy, agricultural processing, construction and
labour, and asked for a joint venture bank to be established to facilitate the
payment of investors in both countries.

Omani minister Maqbool Ali Sultan said the
country planned to increase investment in the Viet Nam-Oman Investment Joint
Stock Company from US$100 million to $1billion.

He expressed his hope that Viet Nam would
soon open an embassy in Oman.

VietNamNet/Viet
Nam News