HCMCity (VNA) – There is still big room for Vietnam and Poland to expandtheir trade and investment cooperation, heard a workshop in Ho Chi Minh City onJune 28.

PhanThiet Hoa, Director of the Investment and Trade Promotion Centre of HCM City(ITPC), said trade between Vietnam and Poland reached nearly 1.6 billion USD in2018, up 60 percent year-on-year, of which Vietnam’s exports to the CentralEuropean country was close to 1.33 billion USD, a rise of 72 percent.

Vietnam’smajor exports to Poland are seafood, garment-textiles, plastics products, cereals,coffee and footwear, he added.

Polandwants to import more products from the Southeast Asian nation like rice, farmproduce, cooking oil and organic and health products.

Meanwhile,the European country has strength in animal-derived products, cattle feed andpharmaceutical products for which Vietnam has great demand, the official said.

Henoted that the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement, which is scheduled to be signedin Hanoi on June 30, will help to boost trade ties between Vietnam and Poland.

Hoasaid ITPC and the representative office of the Polish Investment and TradeAgency in HCM City signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation inimproving the efficiency of trade and investment promotion activities.

Thecollaboration will better assist Vietnamese and Polish enterprises in accessingmarket information as well as trade and investment incentives of the other country,thus contributing to raising the bilateral trade ties, he stressed.

PiotrHarasimowicz, head of the Polish office, said trade and investment ties betweenVietnam and Poland have made progress over the past time but yet to matchpotential of the two countries.

BothVietnam and Poland are big agricultural producers and exporters. However, theyare not rivals but supporters of each other, he said.

Hefurther explained that Vietnam is focusing on upgrading agricultural technologiesand Poland may help the country in this regard.

Accordingto the official, Poland has to buy Vietnamese agricultural products like riceand fruits through European countries.

The two countries should step up cooperation in milk and pharmaceuticalproducts in the years to come, he said, adding that Polish investors also wantto develop digital applications in trade, education, health and accommodationservices in Vietnam, meeting the country’s socio-economic development in thecontext of integration.-VNA