The Middle East is a promising long-term market for Vietnamese companies despite its current technical barriers, a Vietnamese trade official said. Deputy head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade's Department for Africa, Southwestern Asia and Middle East markets, Nguyen Cong Hien, said while speaking at a seminar in Ho Chi Minh City on Wednesday that the area, with a population of 250 million, comprises 15 nations. Among its largest economies are Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Turkey. “The Middle East has a very open policy in finance and banking,” he said. As for imports, he said some 417 commodities, including food, drugs and agriculture products, attract no taxes. Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika recently announced that his country will need to spend $150 billion [on goods] in 2009-11, great news for Vietnamese exporters. “But technical and other barriers might hinder Vietnamese enterprises from trading with Gulf partners.”
