Support industries crucial to development   Visitors at Viet Nam Manufacturing Expo 2014. More than 200 brands from 20 countries including Japan, Thailand, Taiwan and Singapore are taking part in the three-day event. - VNA/VNS Photo Tuan Anh HA NOI (VNS)  - Support industries have played a key role in the industrialisation and modernisation of Viet Nam, a developing country. Do Thang Hai, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, made this declaration yesterday at the opening ceremony for three support industry exhibitions in the capital city. The exhibitions will end tomorrow. Hai said support industries would effectively contribute to the nation's long-term economic growth by helping improve the competitiveness of industrial products, promoting the transfer of technology, attracting more foreign investment and increasing the country's volume of exports. Duangdej Yuaikw-armdee, Deputy Managing Director of Thailand's Reed Tradex Company, agreed, saying the importance of support industries have significantly increased, thereby making them an indispensable sector of the economy. Yuaikwarmdee added that since Viet Nam's support industries were still in their early stage of development, they would require certain elements needed for a promising future such as the right machinery and technology, updated knowledge on the latest industry trends and know-how, essential infrastructure and human resource development, and extensive networks of industrialists. According to Yuaikw-armdee, the Reed Tradex's Viet Nam Manufacturing Expo 2014 aims to help parts manufacturers find the technology they need by providing more opportunities to meet quality suppliers, expand markets, widen networks and enhance knowledge. More than 200 brands from 20 countries and territories including Japan, Thailand, Taiwan and Singapore are taking part in the exhibition. The other exhibitions are the, Electronics Assembly 2014, which Reed Tradex also organised, and Industrial Components & Subcontracting Viet Nam 2014, which the Ha Noi Trade Promotion Centre organised and hosted. The exhibitions have so far attracted 40 Vietnamese parts manufacturers. These events will run until tomorrow. Nguyen Duc Ngoc, Oversea Business Director of Prodetech Joint Stock Company in Ha Noi, told Viet Nam News that the exhibitions were the only of their kind in the capital and served as a good opportunity for his company to advertise products to domestic and foreign buyers and update advanced manufacturing technology which could be used for his company's development. Ngoc called for more assistance from the State and concerned sectors and organisations in boosting the production capacities and improving the quality of products of local parts manufacturers. - VNS