Algiers (VNA)ꦓ – A workshop was held in Algeria’s capital Algiers on October 25 to boost economic cooperation between Vietnam and Algeria.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Algeria Pham Quoc Tru said Vietnam wants to enhance its international trade relations, especially with African countries. He highlighted the bright prospects for economic collaboration between Vietnam and Algeria, citing two-way trade reaching a record of 250 million USD in 2014 and topping 235 million USD in 2015. In the first six months of this year, bilateral trade was estimated at 140.23 million USD, a year-on-year rise of 3 percent, he said, adding that Vietnam mainly exported coffee, mobile phones and spare parts, iron and steel, and pepper while importing cattle feed, medicine and mineral from Algeria. The Bir-Seba joint venture between the Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group, Algeria’s State-owned oil and gas company Sonatrach, and Thailand’s PTT Exploration and Production Company started operation in 2015 with production capacity of 18,000 barrels of oil per day, he said, highlighting this as effective cooperation between Vietnam and Algeria. The Ambassador pledged to help Algerian businesses exchange market information with Vietnamese partners. Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the Medéa region Hadef Abderrahmane said the workshop offers a chance for Algerian businesses to understand more about the Vietnamese market. He said Algeria is striving to diversify its economy by developing non-oil sectors such as agriculture, industry, construction, tourism, information technology and communication, and renewable energy. At the workshop, participants suggested the two countries’ governments sign agreements on trade, labour, and investment cooperation while increasing delegation exchanges and trade promotion.-VNA