Vietnamese businesses and their partners from Yunnan province of China signed 10 contracts, worth approximately US $410 million, at a trade seminar in Hanoi on April 4.

The signing of the contracts will be an opportunity for Vietnamese and Yunnan businesses to boost their co-operation and will facilitate the two sides' efforts to increase their two-way trade to US $1 billion this year, Deputy Trade Minister Luong Van Tu said.

To achieve the target, the senior trade official further said, both sides should take specific measures to make full use of their advantages and potentials. Accordingly, they should consider signing long-term contracts on exchanging their staples, such as rubber, fruits and vegetables, aquatic products and wood products from Vietnam and equipment and machineries, steel and fertiliser from Yunnan, he added.

The deputy minister also recommended that businesses of both sides boost their co-operation in agriculture, mining, agro-forestry and aquatic product processing for exporting to each other's markets and third countries.

Meanwhile, the Yunnan governor, Qin Guangrong, proposed that the two side accelerate the construction of the Kunming-Hanoi economic corridor so as to increase their trade and investment ties as well as to expand their co-operation in education and culture.

In 2006, two-way trade between Vietnam and Yunnan province reached nearly 6 million USD, nearly double last year's figure. The main traded items were chemicals, machineries, electrical and electronic appliances, steel, coal, minerals and farm produce.

The seminar on trade and investment between Vietnamese and Yunnan province businesses was part of an international trade exhibition, called Vietnam Expo 2007, which runs in Hanoi from April 4-8. (VNA)