He also said bilateral economic-trade cooperation has seen progress in recent years, with Algeria becoming the fourth largest export market of Vietnam in Africa. Vietnam has invested in the oil and gas industry in Algeria, and the Vietnam-Algeria-Thailand joint venture began commercial operation in 2015, pumping around 18,000 barrels a day. Labour cooperation saw a boom in the 1980s and 1990s with thousands of Vietnamese experts and workers working in Algeria in a range of sectors, from education, healthcare to agriculture and construction. After being suspended for some time, Vietnamese workers returned to Algeria in 2013, mostly those who work in construction. Around 4,000 Vietnamese workers are working in the African country at present.
Ambassador Pham Quoc Tru and Oran province's Governor Zaafen Abdelghani
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Ambassador Tru particularly highlighted the warm sentiment of Algerian people towards Vietnam, which is the result of the two nations’ mutual support during their struggle for national independence, the efforts of both countries’ leaders to foster bilateral friendship, and the good impression left by Vietnamese experts during their time working in Algeria.
The ambassador stressed that two-way trade, at nearly 270 million USD in 2016, remains modest and below the potential and expectation of both countries. Ambassador Pham Quoc Tru affirmed Vietnam’s policy to boost trade exchanges with all countries in the world, including African countries, on the win-win basis.
Tru stressed that Vietnam-Algeria economic cooperation prospect is optimistic. Many Vietnamese goods have become familiar with Algerian customers while Algerian goods began to appear in Vietnam.
He also proposed that Oran administration designate a suitable location to install a statue of President Ho Chi Minh and soon form a sister relationship with a Vietnamese city to further develop the relationship between the two countries. He said he hoped Vietnamese enterprises will come to seek business opportunities in Oran in tourism, agriculture, construction, service, machinery and petrochemical.
