Boosting exports to the Central Eastern European market still has great potential

On the morning of January 18 local time, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his wife, along with members of the Vietnamese delegation on an official visit to Poland, visited the ASG Trade Center in Warsaw.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his wife and members of the working delegation visited the ASG Trade Center in Warsaw - Photo: VNA

Accompanying the Prime Minister were Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Nguyen Van Nen, leaders of ministries, departments, branches, central and local agencies, members of the working delegation, and representatives of Vietnamese commercial centers in Poland.

Reporting to the Prime Minister and the delegation, Mr. Hoang Xuan Binh, Chairman of the Board of Directors of ASG, said that ASG is the first commercial center of the Vietnamese community, one of the largest centers owned by Vietnamese people in Poland, most of the booths here are also owned by Vietnamese people.

As a modern commercial center, built synchronously according to EU standards on an area of ​​about 120,000 m2, ASG currently has more than 400 import-export and wholesale stores. ASG is also located close to the main road connecting the capital Warsaw and the ancient capital Krakow, with a very convenient location for travel.

Businesses here contribute tens of millions of dollars in taxes to the locality each year and create thousands of jobs for Vietnamese people. Currently, businesses here are promoting digital transformation and developing e-commerce.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh: Boosting exports to the Central Eastern European market still has great potential - Photo: VNA

Expressing his joy at the country's development achievements, Mr. Hoang Xuan Binh suggested that the authorities and localities in the country continue to create favorable conditions for overseas Vietnamese businesses to participate in the value chain of Vietnamese goods with the spirit of "Vietnamese people selling Vietnamese goods", building Vietnamese goods brands, contributing to the whole country entering a new era. He hopes that Poland will become an important gateway to bring more Vietnamese goods to the Central Eastern Europe and EU regions.

Informing that in 2024, Vietnam will export goods worth about 420 billion USD, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien respectfully invited businesses in ASG and Poland to attend monthly meetings of Vietnamese trade representative agencies abroad organized by the Ministry of Industry and Trade to exchange and connect with domestic businesses, and increase the delivery of Vietnamese goods to this region.

Speaking here, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasized that in order to diversify markets, products and supply chains, in recent years, the Prime Minister has given many very specific instructions on enhancing exchanges and connections between domestic and foreign enterprises and agencies.

The Prime Minister highly appreciated the spirit of patriotism, love for the nation, mutual support and solidarity of the people, especially in times of difficulty and hardship - Photo: VNA

Sending New Year greetings to the Vietnamese community at the ASG Center, the Prime Minister expressed his joy at the results of the Center's activities in particular, which are a support for compatriots in Poland, as well as the proud success and comprehensive development of the Vietnamese people in Poland in general.

The Prime Minister highly appreciated the spirit of patriotism, mutual support and solidarity of the people, especially in difficult times such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Europe, or the fire at the 44 Marywilska Shopping Center in Warsaw.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh informed the community of the main results of the talks and meetings with Polish leaders. Currently, the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement has been implemented, and Poland also said it will soon ratify the Vietnam-EU Investment Protection Agreement. During the discussion, the Prime Minister also asked Poland to consider recognizing the Vietnamese community as an ethnic minority in the country.

Poland is currently Vietnam's largest trading partner in Central and Eastern Europe, while Vietnam is Poland's largest trading partner in Southeast Asia. However, economic, trade and investment relations between the two countries are still not commensurate with the very good political and diplomatic relations.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his wife and members of the delegation working with the Vietnamese community in Poland - Photo: VNA

The Prime Minister said that businesses, including those at ASG, play a very important role in exploiting the unique potential, outstanding opportunities, and competitive advantages between the two countries, contributing to effectively exploiting the Polish market and the Central Eastern European markets, which are traditional markets for more than 70 years and have great potential.

The Prime Minister hopes that the Vietnamese community in general and those doing business at the ASG Trade Center in particular will continue to work and do business in accordance with the law for rapid, sustainable and effective development; contribute to connecting the two economies through supply chains, exploiting Vietnam's strengths such as agricultural products (fruits, coffee, pepper, cashews, etc.), garments, electronics, footwear, etc., promote the promotion of officially imported Vietnamese products, access to the Polish and European markets; contribute to creating a breakthrough in economic, trade and investment cooperation, striving to soon achieve a bilateral trade turnover of 5 billion USD/year.

The Prime Minister also hopes that people will continue to promote the spirit of solidarity and self-reliance, coordinate and support each other in business activities and life, such as helping with capital, sharing experiences, providing legal guidance, etc.; creating jobs for people, and sending relatives and friends from the country to work.

Proposing to promote e-commerce while still focusing on logistics to reduce costs and increase competitiveness of products and goods, the Prime Minister said that the country is promoting the Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong railway connecting with China and Europe, and suggested that Vietnam Airlines promote air transport cooperation, especially with the Polish national airline LOT Group, and have appropriate discounts for Vietnamese goods transported here...

The Prime Minister requested the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Industry and Trade to support domestic and foreign businesses, the Ministry of Planning and Investment to connect innovation, and domestic localities to increase support for overseas Vietnamese businesses; at the same time, businesses in Poland need to maintain good relations with the local government and partners, compete fairly, build a business culture, preserve and promote the Vietnamese brand.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his wife, along with a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation, left Warsaw for an official visit to the Czech Republic.

* This is the final activity of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh during his official visit to Poland. Afterwards, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his wife, along with the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation, left Warsaw, successfully concluding their visit to Poland, and headed to the Czech Republic for an official visit at the invitation of Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala.

Source: https://baotainguyenmoitruong.vn/thu-tuong-day-manh-xuat-khau-sang-thi-truong-trung-dong-au-con-tiem-nang-rat-lon-385835.html