(VOVworld) - A group of 25 Indian enterprises led by the Haryana Chamber of Commerce and Industry (HCCI), is visiting Vietnam to look at investment opportunities in the Vietnamese market. On Monday, the Indian Embassy and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) hosted a Vietnam-India Business Forum. Indian Ambassador Ranjit Rae made the point that these Indian enterprises were from Haryana, a fast-growing state in India which has a variety of industries such as textiles, telecommunications, auto parts, electricity production and pharmaceuticals. The ambassador said that prior to this forum, Indian enterprises in general and the enterprises of Haryana in particular expressed their decisive to strengthen their cooperation with Vietnamese enterprises. The forum is part of an effort by the Indian Embassy, HCCI and VCCI to promote economic cooperation, an important pillar of the strategic relations between Vietnam and India. Ambassador Ranjit Rae said: "Our two countries have excellent political relations. We have excellent cooperation on security and strategic issue. But we need to do much more in the field of trade and investment partnership. Our trade and investment relationship does not reflect the quality of the political relationship we have. Nor does it reflect the potential for cooperation between two countries and I hope that the visit of the Haryana Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s delegations will lead to some concrete programs and projects for cooperation". 

Pankaj Kapoor, Chairman of the Haryana Chamber of Commerce and Industry (HCCI) (Photo: VOVworld)

Despite the current global financial crisis, bilateral trade between Vietnam and India has been constantly increasing in recent years. India is now one of Vietnam’s top trade partners. By April this year, total trade volume had reached 1.8 billion USD, an increase of more than 49% last year. Both sides hope to reach a 5 billion USD target this year.