Vietnam will provide Oman with a stable amount of farm productsand foods in the long term as agreed at the first meeting of the twocountries’ first joint cooperation committee.

At the meeting, which took place in Hanoi on Jan. 10, Vietnam saidit expected to receive a stable quantity of crude oil and natural gasfrom the Arabian country in the long term.

Vietnam also askedOman to consider the signing of agreements on customs, mutualrecognition on standards, maritime freight and food security.

Forits part, Oman hoped the Southeast Asian country will soon ratifyan agreement that will give visa exemption to Omani holders of officialand diplomatic passports.

Minister of Industry and Trade Vu HuyHoang stressed the previously signed cooperation documents in aviationand taxation, the freshly inked agreement on investment protection andthe establishment of the Vietnam-Oman Business Council created a legalframework for both countries.

Hoang suggested the Oman Bank andthe Vietnam Bank for Industry and Trade soon set up a joint venture bankserving the two countries’ investors and business people.

OmanMinister of Trade and Industry Maqbool Ali Sultan expected Vietnamwill open an embassy in Oman as soon as possible and called onVietnamese business people to invest in his country.

He also said the Oman Education Ministry is willing to provide post-graduate scholarships for Vietnamese students.

Oman plans to raise its investment in the Vietnam-Oman InvestmentJoint Stock Company, which was partnered by the State Capital InvestmentCorporation and Oman partners, from 100 million USD to 1 billionUSD.

In 2010, two-way trade between Vietnam and Oman hit 41.4 million USD, doubling the 2009 figure.

Bothcountries have already cooperated in the fields of investment, finance,energy and real estate, and reached cooperation agreements on energy,fertiliser and construction./.