Vietnam, India to start direct flights: report

Vietnam and India have agreed to start direct flights to enhance bilateral trade, a report by the India newswire New Kerala said Tuesday. 

The report quoted Vietnamese Deputy Trade Minister Tran Duc Minh as saying that with the two countries agreeing in principle, the airline companies would start a full-fledged survey to study the market potential.

“Indian Airlines and its counterpart in Vietnam have already started primary market research to find out whether such proposals would be viable,” Minh said at a program 'India-Vietnam Business Cooperation' organized by the Bengal National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BNCCI), Kolkata

''Depending on the outcome of the survey both the companies would decide on the number of flights and their intervals,'' he added.

Direct flights between the two countries would boost bilateral trade, he observed.

''Vietnam, like India, is an agro-based country. We want Indian companies to invest in our country in sectors like tea, cashew nut, fishery and other marine products,'' he also said.

BNCCI president Nayantara Palchowdhuri said in 2004-05 Indian exports to Vietnam was US$541.7 million while import from there was only $82.7 million.

A 25-member delegation led by Federation of Indian Export Organization (FIEO) and other chambers would visit Vietnam in March to gauge the investment potential in the Southeast Asian country, FIEO repersentatives said at the program.

The pepper growers from South India would also join the national delegation to explore scope of bilateral trade in this area as Vietnam is a major pepper producing country.

Source: New Kerala