promising Growth Expected Ahead Of Trade Negotiations Between Vietnam And Israel
The first-ever diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Israel were set up in 1993, and the beginning of 2023 completes 30 successful years of this bilateral trade relationship. With the completion of 30 years, the two nations recently completed their free trade agreement negotiations as well. These trade negotiations took seven long years and 12 different rounds of negotiations to finally materialize.
It has been said that the VIFTA agreement is one of the major milestones that were supposed to be achieved in bilateral trade between Vietnam and Israel. This will surely give a boost and extra mileage to the trade figures between these nations. This agreement will act as a foundation for bilateral trade between Vietnam and Israel and will be responsible for creating a framework that will further improve the economic and trade ties between these countries with the utmost integrity and transparency.
VIETNAM AND ISRAEL BILATERAL TRADE INSIGHTS
According to the statistics shared by Vietnam Trade Data in recent times, Israel is considered the 5th largest trading partner of Vietnam in the Middle East region. The bilateral trade between these countries has grown at a rapid pace in recent times, which clearly shows that the trade relations between these two nations are getting stronger with each passing year.
Below, we have mentioned the bilateral trade trend between Vietnam and Israel over the last five years.
Bilateral Trade Trend Between Vietnam and Israel (2017–2021) | |||
YEAR | VIETNAM > ISRAEL | ISRAEL > VIETNAM | REMARKS |
2017 | USD 711.41 million | USD 344.96 million | Trade surplus (V) |
2018 | USD 779.84 million | USD 420.65 million | Trade surplus (V) |
2019 | USD 774.29 million | USD 382.23 million | Trade surplus (V) |
2020 | USD 683.23 million | USD 896.70 million | Trade surplus (I) |
2021 | USD 780.49 million | USD 1.10 billion | Trade surplus (I) |
From the above-mentioned table, it is clear that trade between Vietnam and Israel has grown unconventionally in the past five years. The balance is also maintained between imports and exports, as from 2017 to 2019, Vietnam enjoyed a trade surplus, whereas, after 2019 until 2021, Israel started enjoying the same.
MAJOR EXPORTS OF VIETNAM TO ISRAEL – 2021
Numerous items are being exported from Vietnam to Israel as per Vietnam Export Data at the present time. Based on that same database for the year 2021, the top items exported by Vietnam to Israel were:
Electrical machines and related parts (USD 442.76 million)
Footwear (USD 61.22 million)
Edible fruits and nuts (USD 60.71 million)
Fish and other small aquatic animals (USD 44.53 million)
Beverages like coffee, tea, and spices (USD 18.60 million)
Clothing items and apparel (USD 15.19 million)
Other items that are on this list are wooden items and furniture, followed by rubber products, plastic items, and leather products.
MAJOR IMPORTS OF VIETNAM FROM ISRAEL – 2021
Just like how Vietnam exports its products to Israel, in a similar manner, Israel also exports various items to Vietnam, which Vietnam records in its dedicated Vietnam Import Data report. Under this report, all the imports made by Vietnam in a fiscal year are recorded and stored. From the same report, we have listed the top products that were imported by Vietnam from Israel in the year 2021.
Electrical machines and appliances (USD 919.04 million)
Fertilizers (USD 96.55 million)
Machinery and equipment (USD 21.84 million)
Optical and precision products (USD 13.75 million)
Natural and cultured pearls (USD 11.61 million)
Plastic products (USD 7.7 million)
Other products in this list are cotton, essential oils and perfumes, pharmaceutical products, and iron and steel products.
FDI PROJECTS OF ISRAEL PLANTED IN VIETNAM
In the first quarter of the ongoing year 2023, Israel invested a whopping USD 60 million in Vietnam with regard to two new projects. Out of 67 countries that have invested in Vietnam, Israel is ranked 12th in terms of investment. The main focus of the Israeli projects is on IT, manufacturing, and agriculture.
Israeli organizations and companies are also showing interest in getting associated with local Vietnamese firms that are into producing clean energy, renewable energy sources, and solar power projects.
Not only Israel, but Vietnam has also invested huge sums of money in R&D projects in the Israeli markets.
CONCLUSION
It can be said without any doubt that the bilateral trade between Vietnam and Israel has been a success till now, and in the future, it will grow by several folds. We can say this with surety because both countries are specialized in different sectors that allow them to share their expertise with each other.
On the one hand, Vietnam is a country whose economy is bent towards agriculture and other primary sources of revenue, and on the other hand, Israel is a nation that has expertise in technology, innovation, and R&D. Both countries fulfill the demands of the other, which makes the bilateral trade between them a huge success.
Due to multiple high-level meetings and visits by diplomats of both countries, trade, and cooperation between the nations have grown several folds, and the final outcome is VIFTA.
In a nutshell, bilateral trade between these countries is going to rise in the future, and the indirect benefit will also be enjoyed by the industries and companies of both nations.