Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam always considers Côted’Ivoire one of its top trade partners in Africa, stated Minister of Industry andTrade Nguyen Hong Dien when hosting President of Côte d’Ivoire’s NationalAssembly Adama Bictogo in Hanoi on June 15.

Vietnam can completely supply the African nation goods thatit needs, Dien told his guest, suggesting the two nations acceleratetheir negotiations of a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) and a preferential trade agreement (PTA) as well as develop a better cooperation plan.

Côte d’Ivoire can serve as a bridge to help Vietnam and the EconomicCommunity of West African States (ECOWAS) study the possibility of negotiating suchagreements between the sides, the minister noted.

He went on recommending the two nations step up the exchange of all-level delegations and business delegations, encourage their firms to join trade expos in theother side, and consider promoting joint work in agricultural and food processingand mining.

In addition to rice, he suggested Côte d’Ivoire increase the import of goods of its demand and Vietnam’s strength such as textiles,footwear, household items, construction materials, machinery, and electrical equipment.

In response, Bictogo said that Côte d'Ivoire alwaysconsiders Vietnam an important partner in the Asia-Pacific region, and wishesto strengthen their bilateral cooperation in all fields, especially economy andtrade.

Expressing his delight at positive progress made in thesides’ economic and trade ties with average annual bilateraltrade reaching over 1 billion USD in the past five years, the top legislator laudedthe Vietnamese ministry’s role in promoting the countries’ cooperationactivities. He pledged tight collaboration with the ministry to carry out Dien’sproposals.

Bictogo said his nation is currently an important transitmarket, bringing goods to many countries in West Africa such as Burkina Faso,Mali, and Niger. This could facilitate Vietnam's strong products like farmproduce, textiles, footwear, and household goods, to access many member marketsof ECOWAS), the official added.

Côte d'Ivoire is one of the two leading rice export marketsof Vietnam in Africa. In 2022, Vietnam exported 656,000 tonnes of rice worthnearly 295 million USD to the nation.

It is also one of the major suppliers of rawcashew nuts to Vietnam, with the latter’s spending on purchasing the productfrom the former usually accounting for 20-30% of its total raw cashew nut importvalue./.