India and Vietnam are celebrating 50 years of diplomatic relations in 2022. Over these five decades, bilateral relation has grown tremendously in areas such as economy, tourism and cultural exchange. Da Nang city in Vietnam holds tremendous potential for bilateral trade and investment with India as the city is emerging as an economic growth center in the country.

In order to explore untapped trade, investment and tourism potential with India, a high level delegation from Da Nang City visited India recently. World Trade Center Mumbai organized an interactive meeting with the delegation that was led by Mr. Tran Phuoc Son, Vice Chairman, Da Nang People's Committee, Vietnam. The other members of the delegation were senior officials from Department of Information and Communication, Department of Industry and Trade, Department of Foreign Affairs and Department of Tourism in Da Nang city.

In his opening remarks, Mr. Son informed, “Our vision is to transform Da Nang city into an economic, IT, innovation and Hi-Tech Center of Vietnam and Asia. We invite Indian investment from five focus sectors, viz. i) Tourism, ii) Sea Port & Airport, iii) Hi-Tech Manufacturing, iv) IT & Digital Economy and v) Fisheries,”.

In order to promote tourism and business ties, Vietnamese airline Vietjet will soon launch direct flight services connecting five Indian cities, viz. New Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Bengaluru with Da Nang.

Mr. Son invited Indian companies to invest in the Da Nang Hi-Tech Park, which has state-of-the art logistics, incubation, IT & telecom infrastructure. This park seeks investment in six priority sectors, viz. micro-electronics, IT, automation & precision technology, new energy, nano technology and petrochemicals. Mr. Son also invited Indian companies to explore investment opportunity in the 341 hectare IT park, which is adjacent to the Da Nang Hi-Tech Park.

Earlier in his welcome remarks, Dr. Vijay Kalantri, Chairman, MVIRDC WTC Mumbai raised hope that the current level of bilateral trade value of USD 14.4 billion between India and Vietnam can be doubled in the coming years through focused trade promotion efforts. He pointed out, “WTC Bhubaneswar recently led a 20-member delegation to Vietnam to strengthen bilateral commerce. A few months ago, we have also signed MoU with Invest Global, which is a Vietnam-based trade, tourism and investment promotion agency.”

During the event, officials from the Vietnam delegation made a presentation about how Da Nang can be an ideal tourist destination for weddings, honeymoon and leisure travelers.

The event was attended by Mr. Hoang Tung, Consul General, Consulate General of Vietnam in Mumbai; Mr. Duong Duc Anh, Vice Consul, DCM, Consulate General of Vietnam in Mumbai and representatives from tourism, hospitality, agro-processing, pharma, healthcare and other industries in India.

Capt. Somesh Batra, Vice Chairman, MVIRDC WTC Mumbai proposed the vote of thanks for the event.

In Photo: Mr. Tran Phuoc Son, Vice Chairman, Da Nang People's Committee, Vietnam (2^nd from right) felicitating Dr. Vijay Kalantri, Chairman, WTC Mumbai.  Also seen in the photograph are (From left to right): Mr. Ajoykaant Ruia, Vice Chairman, WTC Mumbai; Mr. Hoang Tung, Consul General, Consulate General of Vietnam in Mumbai and Capt. Somesh Batra, Vice Chairman, WTC Mumbai.