Vietnam’s new Ambassador to Sri Lanka Ho Thi Thanh Truc had presented credentials to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, promising to boost investment, tourism and trade.

President Rajapaksa had invited Vietnam to explore and take advantage of the investment opportunities in the Sri Lankan economy, pointing out that trade and tourism industries between the two countries could be further developed, his office said in a statement.

Ambassador Thanh Truc had said she would give high priority to encourage Vietnamese entrepreneurs to invest in Sri Lanka and to develop trade and tourism sectors.

“Agro-economic development, poverty alleviation and raising the income level of the rural people are some of our priorities,” President Rajapaksa had said.

“Plans are now in motion to achieve that goal. The ultimate objectiveis to achieve a higher level of standard of living for all social strata such as low-income, middle-income, rural and urban. We do not look at development from an ethnic point of view.

“We consider all the people as a whole.”

President Rajapaksa had said that farmers in all areas of the country had benefitted from high guaranteed price for paddy and other crops.

Vietnam now has free trade and is the world’s third largest exporter of rice after opening the economy under Doi Moi in 1984 and ending self-sufficiency.

After reforming the central bank in 1989 Vietnam started to grow fast.

The quality of Vietnam rice had grown rapidly after government intervention ended and earlier this year the country started importing rice from India for animal feed, despite being the world’s third largest exporter of rice.

Further Reading: Vietnam buys Indian rice for first time in decades

Vietnam places the ordinary people before businessmen and producers forcing them into competition and making Vietnamese producers globally competitive, analysts familiar with the country say.

The world’s largest free trade deal, RCEP was signed in Vietnam last year. Vietnam had already signed a free trade deal with the UK.

Vietnam has also controlled Coronavirus in the country and is one of the fastest growing countries in 2020.

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