Eleven tannery owners recently visited Ho Chi Minh City to discuss bilateral trade with firms in Vietnam. The meeting was organised by the Pakistan Embassy in Vietnam, Pakistan Tanners’ Association and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s (VCCI’s) Ho Chi Minh City branch.

According to the Pakistani delegation, led by ambassador Shahid Kiani, Pakistani leather would be ideal for Vietnamese companies to use, particularly within the footwear sector. While Vietnam’s shoe sector has grown rapidly in recent years, its leather production capacity is currently insufficient, so it relies on imports from other countries. The Pakistani delegation hopes more and more Vietnamese shoe firms will use leather from the country to fill any gaps it has.

Bilateral trade between the countries has increased rapidly in recent years, from $10 million in 2000 to $150 in 2008, according to Nguyen The Hung, deputy general director of the Ho Chi Minh City branch of the VCCI.