The milestone marking the birth of formal partnering and Bilateral trade between Nigeria and Vietnam was reached in the year 2001, when the

Federal Republic of Nigeria received a high-level delegation of Government officials led by Engineer Do Nhu Dinh the Deputy Minister of Trade of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. The delegation's negotiation with counterparts in the Federal Ministry of Commerce culminated in the signing of the "Trade Agreement

between the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Federal Republic of Nigeria".On the 21st of June 2001 in Abuja, this agreement was signed and provided among other things the basis for future commercial interaction between the two countries. It witnessed the hand of Engr. Mustafa Bello, the then Honorable Minister of Commerce, who signed for and on behalf of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Engr. Do Nhu Dinh, the Vietnam Deputy Minister of Trade, who signed for and on behalf of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Between the year 2001 and 2004, the period which can be said to mark the birth of formal bilateral trade; trade balance between Nigeria and Vietnam stood at $25 million.

The cycle may have been said to have entered the period of growth in 2005, when former President Olusegun Obasanjo GCFR, accompanied by the then Minister of Commerce and other high-ranking Government officials accepted the invitation of the President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and paid a State visit to Vietnam. It proved an eye opener. That visit was followed in the same year with the visit of Technocrats to Vietnam to further build on the earlier visit of the President and commander-in-chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Their visits paved the way for that of Dr Rafiq Ogunbambi, who was the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Commerce in 2006.

The Vietnamese side could be said to have been the first of the two sides to enjoy the fruits of this cycle of growth and development witnessed in the partnering between Nigeria and Vietnam; as they strategically packaged a 12-man Trade Mission comprising Vietnamese business men and women to Nigeria in 2006, the visit was a "watershed" in the annals of collaboration between the two countries.Propped by the young Vietnam Trade office in Lagos, the mission visited Lagos, the economic nerve centre of Nigeria and Abuja, the political base and seat of Government.

They held a Business and Investment Forum at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and the Abuja Chamber of Commerce. It was during the event held at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce that the idea of forming the Nigeria-Vietnam Chamber of Commerce & Industry was first made public by Prince Oye Akinsemoyin who eventually registered the Chamber in 2007 and became the first and present President.
Soon after the formal registration of the Chamber of Commerce, activities marking advancement in the partnering life cycle of the two great nations began. Salient amongst these activities which were initiated by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry included the following:

1. The visit to Ado Ekiti by the Commercial counselor Mr. PhamVan Cong, in the company of the President of the Chamber of Commerce, where they were received by the Governor of the State, His Excellency Engr Segun Oni in September 2007. The Purpose of the visit was to initiate partnership between the State

Government and Vietnam in Agriculture, Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) development.

2. Visit to Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), where the newly arrived head of Mission of the Embassy of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Mr. Bach Van Do met with the Director General of the Agency, the Executive and Management team of the Agency in January 2008. This visit was to bolster the mutual interest of both sides, particularly with both Nigeria and Vietnam being world class maritime nations. Vietnam offered Strategic and Technical partnership particularly in Capacity building in Human Resources & Infrastructures to the maritime sector of Nigeria on that occasion.This visit was on the 8th of January, 2008.

3. Visit to the Office of the Governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Fashola by the Commercial Counselor and the President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry where they were received by the Chief of Staff to the Governor in February 2008. The visit mainly was to explore means of collaboration with the Lagos State Government in the areas of Transportation, Infrastructures, the Evolution of Lagos as a Mega City possibility for Free Trade Zone, development in Lagos State.

4. Several visits to the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) for meetings with the Commercial Counselor, in 2007, culminating in the signing of an MOU between the Nigeria Vietnam Chamber of Commerce & Industry and NIPC on the 5th of February 2008. The outcome of these several visits to Abuja is the epoch- making 1st Nigeria-Vietnam Business& Industry Forum (NVBIF 2008) .