Vietnam says ready for FTA with India

MUMBAI: The Vietnamese government on Thursday said it was open to the idea of signing a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with India.

"We are ready to sign an FTA with India," Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said while delivering the keynote address at India-Vietnam Business Forum meet here.

Inviting Indian industrialists to invest in Vietnam, Dung said his country would prove to be a safe and efficient destination for Indian investors.

Two-way trade between India and Vietnam has increased by 20-30 per cent a year since 2001 and in recent months, major Indian conglomerates such as Essar and the Tata Group have invested in Vietnam.

Though India has now become one of the top ten countries in terms of investment in Vietnam, there was still a lot of scope for economic relations to be further strengthened, he said.

"Despite these successes, cooperation has not been commensurate with the advantages and potential of the business communities of the two countries," Dung said.

"We can do more in trade and investment for mutual benefit," he said.