The Value of bilateral trade between Laos and Vietnam has seen a major increase this year thanks to closer economic cooperation between the two nations. According to a report from the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, two-day trade value between the neighbouring countries reached about US$ 450 million over the past six months of the 2009-10 fiscal year thanks to tightened economic and trade cooperation. The Lao and Vietnamese governments plan to reach bilateral trade value of about US$ 1 billion this year and US$ 2 billion by 2015 as part of efforts to implement comprehensive cooperation policies. The two governments plan to boost the value of their bilateral trade by continuing to impose the current preferential import-export taxes for 2011. According to a report from the Department of Import and Export, Laos exported about US$ 152 million worth of goods to Vietnam in the 2008-09 fiscal year, while importing about US$ 139 million worth of goods from Vietnam. Economists believe the rising level of Vietnamese investment in Laos will further boost bilateral trade between the two nations in the coming years. According to a report from the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the value of Vietnamese investment in Laos between 2000 and 2009 was about US$ 2 billion, making the nation the third largest foreign investor in Laos after Thailand and China. Vietnamese investment value in 2010 has reached about US$ 49 million.
Source: Vientiane Times
