(VOVworld) - Haitian Prime Minister Laurent Salvador Lamothe began an official visit to Vietnam on Monday at Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung’s invitation. The visit aims to deepen bilateral friendship and cooperation and tap the two countries’ potential.

Haiti is a Caribbean island country neighboring the Dominican Republic. Haiti is one of the least developed countries and has the lowest per capita income in Latin America. Agriculture accounts for 25% of Haiti’s economy while industry contributes 15% and services 59%. The country’s major agricultural products include coffee, sugarcane, bananas, maize, potatoes, and rice. Haiti also has food processing, garment and textile and machine manufacturing industries. Last year, Haiti earned more than 720 million USD from exports, 83% of which came from the US. Its main export items include garments, textiles, cacao, mangoes and coffee. Haiti imports mainly foodstuffs, machinery, and raw materials at a value of 3.3 billion USD.

Vietnam and Haiti established diplomatic ties on September 26, 1997. The two countries have nurtured a good political relationship despite their geographical distance. After a 7 Richter scale earthquake hit Haiti killing more than 300,000 people and leaving 3 million homeless, the Vietnamese Party and State sent condolences and 150,000 USD to the Haitian people.

Relations between the two nations are still far from reaching their full potential. Two-way trade turnover totaled only 40 million USD last year, though still an improvement on 2010’s 11 million USD. Vietnam’s exports to Haiti totaled 15 million USD and imports 25 million USD. In the first half of 2012, trade jumped to 19 million USD. Vietnam’s primary Haitian imports are clothing, leather material, paper pulp, waste iron & steel, and animal feed. Its main export commodities are garments and textiles, rattan products, wooden furniture, instant noodles, chemicals, and plastics.

In 2010, Viettel and Haiti’s Telecom International Teleco S.A establisheda  joint venture known as NATCOM S.A with a total capital of 100 million USD, of which 60 percent came from Viettel. Since it began operations in September last year, NATCOM has secured 20 percent of Haiti’s mobile phone market. Approximately 220 Vietnamese people are currently living in Haiti.

Though Haiti’s population is small and per capita income is low, it is a potential market for Vietnam, especially in telecommunications, construction, garments and textiles, electronic appliances, and plastic products. Vietnam is enjoying agricultural, health care and education cooperation with Haiti within the framework of South South Cooperation and cooperation with a third country. Both countries have always maintained cooperation in international and multilateral forums. Haiti is a member of the United Nations, the Organization of American States (OAS), the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) and other organizations such as the International Labor Organization (ILO), and the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Prime Minister Lamothe’s visit to Vietnam is expected to be a good opportunity for both sides to promote bilateral friendship and cooperation, especially in economics, trade, investment, agriculture, telecommunications, construction and health care and discuss other issues of mutual concern.