Speakers at a discussion yesterday observed that the prospect of economic cooperation between Bangladesh and Vietnam is very bright because of their similar economic conditions and problems in the process of industrialisation.

These two developing countries can share their developing experiences as both are agro-based and trying to proceed towards rapid Industrialisation, they said.

"Vietnam emerged from a devastating war and made remarkable growth over the years through various reforms towards market economy." said Nguyen Huy Hoang, an economist at the Institute of South East Asian Studies (ISEAS) of Hanoi.

He was giving a talk on "Prospects of Bangladesh-Vietnam economic cooperation" at Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies which was also addressed by BI-ISS chairman Mustafa Ka-maluddin and Director General Brig. Mohammad Shahedul Anam Khan.

To increase trade relations between the two countries, he said. Bangladesh can export more goods to Vietnam as there is a demand for Bangladeshi jute goods, ready-made garments and chemical fertilizer.

"On the other hand Bangladesh can import rice from Vietnam as it has emerged as the second largest rice ex-Erter of the world after Thai-

id." Hoang said.

Giving an overview of economic development in Vietnam, he said — a good number

of world famous companies rushed to Vietnam for exploring economic potentialities following the liberalisation of its economy. "And now the flow of Foreign Direct Investment into the country reached 25 billion US dollars." he noted.

"The main attractions of foreign companies are cheap and skilled labour force." Hoang said adding that the country had a target for attracting another 25 billion dollars in foreign investment in the next decade.

Hoang said the FDI is contributing a lot to create a strong base of economic development in the country. He suggested Bangladesh build more airoorts and develop transport facilities to attract FDI.

He, however, noted that there was no Bangladeshi investor in Vietnam as well as no Vietnamese investor in Bangladesh mainly due to lack of communication and exchange of funds.