Addressing the opening ceremony, Sunil Kumar, CEO of Spinneys, revealed that the company aims to open three more retail stores this year in Riyadh and Jeddah, as well as at least four new stores each year in Saudi Arabia over the next five to 10 years.

He added that the firm also plans to open a purchasing representative office in Vietnam, expecting to enable more Vietnamese goods to make inroads into this market in the near future.

Meanwhile, Vietnamese Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Dang Xuan Dung stressed that several advantageous Vietnamese export products such as agricultural products, seafood, and canned drinks have secured a firm foothold in the Saudi Arabian market.

The diplomat expressed his hope that Spinneys would move to increase the import of Vietnamese products, and the Embassy would actively assist Spinneys in connecting with Vietnamese exporters to ramp up further cooperation.

Statistics unveiled by the General Department of Vietnam Customs show Vietnam exported goods worth US$615.3 million to Saudi Arabia in the first five months of this year, representing an increase of 48.5% year on year.

Major export items include rice, seafood, cashew nuts, pepper, wood, furniture, beverages, textiles, footwear, machinery, automobile parts, electronic components, computers, and phones.

The country imported goods worth US$549.7 million from Saudi Arabia, down 16.1%, including plastic materials, chemicals, and petroleum. Total two-way trade turnover in the reviewed period surged by 9.2% year on year to reach US$1.16 billion.

VOV