Mongolia keen on garment sector cooperation with Vietnam

April 17, 2014 (Vietnam)

Mongolia is keen on cooperation in the garment and textile sector with Vietnam, especially with the Ho Chi Minh City, Regzenda Sandag, Vice Director of Department of Light Industry Policy Implementation and Coordination, under the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry, Government of Mongolia, has said.   Speaking at a seminar on trade exchange between Vietnamese and Mongolian businesses in HCM City, the Mongolian official said Mongolia is keen on exchange of specialists in the garment and textile sector, to find ways to boost development and export in the field.   The official said that Mongolian Government is undertaking several programmes for economic development and integration of the Mongolian economy with the global economy.   Several products from Mongolia enjoy preferential tariffs in the European market and the Mongolia-Japan free trade agreement (FTA) is currently in the final stages of negotiation. Hence, investors in Mongolia, particularly in the industrial parks, would benefit from incentives like financial assistance and tax exemption, the official said.   Nguyen Binh An, deputy head at southern office of the Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex), said Vietnam’s garment and textile industry is growing at an average annual rate of 15-20 percent and manufactures about 3 billion products per year, employing around 2.5 million people.   Vietnam is currently in the process of setting up the entire textile and garment value chain, including spinning, weaving and dyeing, for which partnerships with several countries, including Mongolia, becomes important.   Tran Xuan Dien, deputy director of HCM City’s Department of Industry and Trade, said there are good prospects for cooperation in the garment and textile industry between HCM City and Mongolia, as the city has advantages like availability of human resources and production capacity, while Mongolia has advantages in raw materials and incentives to attract investors. However, language barriers and geographical distance pose a challenge for the two sides.   In 2013, trade between HCM City and Mongolia was around US$ 3 million.