Ambassador Le Hong Phan speaking at the event at his residence yesterday.
Doha: The Vietnamese community in Doha marked their 68th National Day here yesterday.
The event was held at the residence of the Ambassador, Le Hong Phan, and attended by many community members.
In the first six months of 2013, the two-way trade turnover between Qatar and Vietnam reached nearly $70m, Phan said during a briefing.
He said relations between both countries strengthened after the official visit of the then Emir H H Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani to Vietnam last year.
Last April, Vietnam and Qatar convened the first joint committee for economic, trade and technical cooperation.
Last year, Qatar’s exports to Vietnam grew by over 340 percent compared to 2010, as exports amounted to QR737m compared with QR167.5m.
Imports from Vietnam also saw a rise of nearly 304 percent in 2012 compared with 2010, as imports amounted to QR416.4m in 2012 compared with QR103m in 2010.
Qatar has significantly increased its investment in the oil and gas sector in Vietnam’s Long Son Petrochemical Complex, with a stake of about 33 percent ($1.5bn).
Phang said Qatar and Vietnam have a potential for further labour cooperation and investments.
“There are about 500 people from Vietnam here, many of whom are working in the construction and service sectors, while some are engineers and other professionals.
“In recent years, the Vietnamese community in Qatar has increased and they are known as diligent and hard-working people, contributing to Qatar’s development,” the envoy added.
Vietnam exports seafood, cables and wires, wood products, rattan and bamboo woven products, ceramic items, construction glass, automobile spare parts, vegetables and electronic products to Qatar.
It primarily imports liquefied gas, raw plastic and chemicals from Qatar.
One community member said there are very few opportunities for Vietnamese people in Qatar to get together and socialise and that is why community members organise events for many of them.
The Peninsula
