HANOI, Vietnam – On President Rodrigo Duterte’s official visit to Vietnam, he and Vietnam President Tran Dai Quang agreed to boost trade between their two countries.

“The Presidents of both countries, Philippines and Vietnam, have agreed to really level up the trade that we have. In other words, increase the trade numbers that we have, essentially, since the Philippines still has a lot of products that have great potential in the Vietnam market,” said Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez on Thursday, September 29.

Lopez was among the Cabinet secretaries who accompanied Duterte to the bilateral meeting with Vietnam officials at the State Palace earlier that day.

During the meeting, Duterte and Quang agreed to develop a Joint Trade Committee between their countries to operationalize efforts to increase trade.

Trade between the two nations is mainly in the area of agriculture with Vietnam the source of 48% of the Philippines’ total rice imports, said Lopez.

Though no trade agreements were signed during the meeting, Lopez said there is a “mutual understanding” that Vietnam will continue supplying the Philippines with its rice requirements.

The “trade deficit” that results from the Philippines importing more than it exports to Vietnam is something the Duterte administration wants to address, said Lopez.

Duterte thus encouraged the Vietnamese to import more products from the Philippines.

“The President himself asked for cooperation from the Vietnam people to consider importing products from Philippines as we import rice from Vietnam,” said Lopez.

Some potential Philippine products that may find a market in Vietnam are high-value agricultural products, furniture, construction materials and fabricated metals.

Duterte himself boasted about the country’s high-quality furniture, said Lopez.

More and more Filipino companies are entering Vietnam. These include RC, San Miguel, the Ayala group, Jollibee, and Splash, said Lopez.

Duterte is inviting Vietnamese investors to come to the Philippines.

“Now, the President invited, in return, Vietnamese corporations: ‘Invest in the Philippines, we will protect your investors, your investments, contracts will be honored,'” related Lopez.

Duterte also expressed his desire for the Philippines and Vietnam to exchange expertise and best practices in the fields of agriculture and education. 

Both Presidents agreed to develop a Mutual Recognition Agreement on food safety, especially for products in the agriculture and fisheries sectors, a move which aims to increase trade. – Rappler.com