Vietnam - Sri Lanka cooperation priorities

According to the Asia - Africa Market Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, within the framework of her working visit to Sri Lanka to co-chaired the 3rd Session of the Vietnam-Sri Lanka Joint Trade Subcommittee from December 7 to 10, 2025, Deputy Minister Phan Thi Thang, alongside an inter-ministerial and business delegation, conducted a series of significant activities aimed at strengthening bilateral relations and fostering business connectivity between the two nations.

Accordingly, Deputy Minister Phan Thi Thang and the delegation held a working session with Sri Lanka’s Minister of Trade, Food Security and Development Cooperation to discuss solutions for facilitating bilateral trade. During the meeting, Deputy Minister Thang highlighted three key priorities for Vietnam - Sri Lanka cooperation.

First, regarding trade facilitation, the Deputy Minister requested Sri Lanka to consider relaxing and enhancing the transparency of import licensing mechanisms for over 400 items, including many of Vietnam's key export products. 

Second, she urged for the market expansion of Vietnamese rice, seafood, and food products, alongside coordination to remove technical barriers. 

Third, concerning substantive investment cooperation, based on Sri Lanka's desire to attract investment, Vietnam will encourage interested enterprises to explore projects in infrastructure, logistics, and industrial zones, while requesting Sri Lanka to provide clearer details on incentives and project access conditions. 

Also at the meeting, both sides agreed to continue strengthening high-level exchanges and coordination between regulatory bodies and business support mechanisms to soon achieve the bilateral trade target of USD 1 billion.

Regarding the expansion of cooperation in agriculture, logistics, and renewable energy 

Also within the framework of the visit, Deputy Minister Phan Thi Thang, together with the Vietnamese Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the delegation, met with Hayleys Group, one of the largest and most influential conglomerates in Sri Lanka. 

Hayleys Group expressed a desire to cooperate with Vietnamese enterprises in three main areas: 

First, agriculture and agro-processing, where Vietnam has strengths in rice, coffee, cashews, pepper, fruit, and seafood; the two sides could cooperate in supply-distribution, joint ventures for deep processing, and regional supply chain connectivity. 

Second, logistics and supply chains, capitalizing on Vietnam’s position as a manufacturing hub in ASEAN and Sri Lanka’s gateway role in the Indian Ocean to open direct shipping routes, invest in warehousing, and develop a Vietnam-Sri Lanka-South Asia logistics linkage model. 

Third, renewable energy and sustainable development, facilitating exchange on policy, technology, solar and wind power, and green industrial models. 

The Deputy Minister highly appreciated Hayleys' proactiveness and requested the Group to coordinate closely with the Vietnamese Embassy and Trade Office to implement specific cooperation in 2026. Immediately after the meeting, Hayleys dispatched a delegation to survey the Vietnamese market.

In terms of business connectivity, Deputy Minister Phan Thi Thang chaired the Vietnam - Sri Lanka Business Forum on the afternoon of December 9. Organized by the Ministry of Industry and Trade in coordination with the Vietnamese Embassy in Sri Lanka and the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, the forum was attended by over 100 Sri Lankan and Vietnamese enterprises. 

In her opening remarks, Deputy Minister Phan Thi Thang emphasized that businesses are the “central factor” of bilateral economic cooperation, and the governments of both countries are responsible for creating conditions for enterprises to connect, cooperate, and expand markets. She affirmed Vietnam's readiness to accompany Sri Lankan businesses through trade promotion programs, exhibitions, market survey delegations, and B2B matching activities organized by the Ministry and Vietnamese diplomatic missions.

Representatives from the delegation provided information clarifying cooperation potential, market scale, and production capacity, focusing on six sectors of high interest to Sri Lankan businesses: Trade-investment, agriculture and aquaculture processing, manufacturing, textiles and footwear, logistics, and agricultural machinery. Presentations from the Vietnamese side helped Sri Lankan businesses clearly visualize Vietnam's overall production and export capabilities as well as connection opportunities suitable for Sri Lanka's domestic demand and industrial development orientation. 

Accordingly, Vietnam is a major regional manufacturing and export hub, prominent in electronics, textiles, footwear, agricultural products, seafood, wood, and consumer goods; its logistics system and seaport infrastructure are continuously upgraded, helping to reduce transport costs and shorten delivery times to South Asia. Furthermore, Vietnam's agriculture has stable supply capacity meeting global standards, while its supporting industries are expanding rapidly, creating opportunities for cooperation in manufacturing and technology transfer. Vietnam remains an attractive investment destination with a stable business environment and the region's widest FTA network.

At the Forum, businesses from both countries directly exchanged information on product demand, technical standards, maritime and air transport, and potential supply chain models. Many Sri Lankan enterprises expressed significant interest in Vietnamese products such as agricultural produce, seafood, processed food, construction materials, consumer goods, and industrial components. Several Sri Lankan industry associations and businesses also proposed deeper connections with Vietnamese counterparts for long-term cooperation. The Forum served as an initial platform for connecting enterprises seeking to expand trade space and investment opportunities. This was a substantive activity to implement the shared understanding of high-level leaders following the Sri Lankan President's official visit to Vietnam in May 2025 and the outcomes of the 3rd Session of the Joint Trade Sub-Committee, aiming towards a more sustainable and effective bilateral economic partnership.

Currently, Vietnam ranks 48th among Sri Lanka's export destinations and 17th among its import sources. In 2024, export turnover from Sri Lanka to Vietnam reached USD 40.09 million, an increase of 10% compared to 2023; import turnover from Vietnam to Sri Lanka reached USD 238.81 million, an increase of 27% compared to 2023. Major Vietnamese imports from Sri Lanka include knitted fabrics, yarn, animal feed, rubber, textiles, and tea. Conversely, Vietnam exports yarn, knitted fabrics, basic metals, woven fabrics, telephones, electronic equipment and components, and rubber to Sri Lanka.