VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam has inaugurated its embassy in Sri Lanka’s Colombo capital.

The first Vietnamese Ambassador to Sri Lanka is Mr. Ton Sinh Thanh.

Following the establishment of formal diplomatic relations in 1970, Vietnam opened a resident mission in Colombo in May 1971, while Sri Lanka’s Ambassador in China was concurrently accredited to Vietnam. Later accreditation was from Thailand. As Vietnam withdrew its resident representation from Sri Lanka in 1982, due to economic reasons, the Vietnamese Ambassador in India was concurrently accredited to Sri Lanka.

In January 2001, Sri Lanka decided to open a resident Sri Lankan Mission in Hanoi. Accordingly, the Sri Lanka Embassy was opened in Hanoi on January 16, 2003.

Since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1970, Sri Lanka and Vietnam have signed a number of agreements and MoUs in many fields for co-operation between the two countries.

Bilateral trade relations between Sri Lanka and Vietnam continue to register a steady growth, especially following the opening of Vietnamese economy and the Vietnamese admission into World Trade Organization (WTO) in November 2006.

Sri Lanka currently exports to Vietnam: diamond, dyed and crocheted fabrics, natural rubber and non-cellular rubber, tea, textile materials, knitted and crocheted synthetic fabrics, apparels and clothing accessories etc. Imports from Vietnam are processed agricultural products, reception apparatus for television, tractors, and agricultural machineries, cotton, marbles, man made staple fibers, glazed ceramic flags, paving, and wall tiles, Acyclic hydrocarbons, active yeasts, man made filaments, herbicides, anti sprouting products, natural rubber etc.

The two-way trade between Sri Lanka and Vietnam at present remains US$ 40 million and the potential for increase remains untapped.

PV