Vietnamese Delegation visits India to enhance bilateral cooperation in infrastructure and logistics sector

Delegation to visit Integrated Industrial Township, Greater Noida; Aurangabad Industrial City, Maharashtra and Airport Cargo Terminal and Custom Facility, Bangalore, to gain first-hand experience of logistics ecosystem in India

Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry hosted a delegation from Vietnam to promote bilateral cooperation between India and Vietnam in the infrastructure and logistics sector. The five-day visit of the delegation from 31st July to 04th August 2023, is a follow-up to an Indian delegation’s visit, headed by Special Secretary, DPIIT, Smt Sumita Dawra to Vietnam between 29th and 31st March, 2023.

Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Sh. Som Parkash graced this event with his presence. In his address, he stated that these bilateral interactions will foster collaboration and foreign investments in the logistics sector in both countries and promote investments.

First two days of the programme included Government to Business (G2B) and Business to Business (B2B) meetings with stakeholders from private and public sectors from both countries. Followed by site visits planned to Integrated Industrial Township - Greater Noida, Aurangabad Industrial City (AURIC), Maharashtra and Airport Cargo Terminal and Custom Facility, Bangalore, Karnataka, to gain first-hand experience of the logistics ecosystem in the country.

Around 80 participants including Vietnamese delegates from various logistics and supply chain companies and associations such as Sotrans Group, InterLogistics, Vietnam Logistics Association, KNF Global Supply Chain Co., Ltd, etc.; Indian Officials from M/o Textiles, Council of Leather Exports, Central Warehousing Corporation, Invest India, National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation Limited (NICDC) and States (Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh), and Indian industry representatives from Activair Airfreight India Pvt Ltd, Transport Corporation of India Ltd., (TCIL), FIEO, Association of Multimodal Transport Operators of India (AMTOI), Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations in India (FFFAI), FICCI, Warehousing Association of India, among others, had fruitful discussions on both days. 

On Day One, Government to Business (G2B) Sessions were held. Focus of G2B meetings was on showcasing investment opportunities across NICDC industrial parks; logistics parks across different States; textile PM MITRA parks, leather parks, etc.

Secretary, DPIIT, Sh. Rajesh Kumar Singh set the context, and emphasized on the importance of this visit in identifying areas of mutual interest, exploring investment opportunities and knowledge sharing between both the countries.

Key takeaways from Day one is summarised below:

• Direct shipping route between India and Vietnam, is a potential area of interest for both sides.

• Investment opportunities in industrial parks and greenfield industrial smart cities such as Dholera Special Investment Region, Shendra Bidkin Industrial Area etc. can be explored by Vietnamese businesses.

• M/o Textile highlighted that the growth in the sector with forward looking schemes such as production-linked incentive (PLI 2.0), Pradhan Mantri Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel Parks (PM MITRA) etc. will enhance investments.

• Council for Leather Exports showcased potential for setting-up production units in mega leather, footwear and accessories clusters, for attracting investments.

• Investment opportunities in modernization and monetization of infrastructure at 85 locations in Tier-I and Tier-II cities under public-private partnership mode, could be explored by the Vietnamese side.

• Presentations from officials from Gujarat, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka focused on highlighting the key developments and investment opportunities in respective states. For instance, Haryana’s Integrated Multi Modal Logistic Hub that offers investors an opportunity to partner as project concessionaire for building and operating internal infrastructure. Similarly. collaboration can be sought in Multimodal logistic Hub (MMLH) Dadri, Mega Food Park, Bareill, etc. in Uttar Pradesh.

On Day One, the session ended with the closing remarks from Special Secretary, DPIIT, Smt. Sumita Dawra who reemphasized on the potential areas of cooperation and how Vietnam should be part of Indian growth story

On Day Two, Business to Business Sessions were held. The B2B sessions covered the following deliberations:

• Vietnamese companies showcased development in their logistics and supply chain network, along with investment opportunities in various sectors including logistics facilities, air cargo, container shipping, maritime, etc. 

• The Indian businesses presented development and opportunities in the warehousing sector, airfreight, supply chain management, EXIM cargo handling, etc.

In his closing remarks, Consul General of India in Vietnam, Sh. Madan Mohan Sethi, reiterated the commitment of both nations to enhance bilateral trade and investment and expressed confidence in the positive outcomes of the delegation's visit. He invited Indian entrepreneurs to explore trade and investment opportunities in Vietnam.