(MPI) - On June 28, 2024, at the headquarters of the Ministry of Planning and Investment, Deputy Minister Tran Duy Dong chaired a working session with the EU-ASEAN Business Council led by Mr. Chris Humphrey, Executive Director of the Council.
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| EU-ASEAN Business Council Executive Director Chris Humphrey speaks. Photo: MPI |
At the meeting, Executive Director of the EU-ASEAN Business Council Chris Humphrey congratulated Vietnam on maintaining impressive economic growth; highly appreciated its strong commitments to improving the investment environment and orientation for sustainable economic development and green economy.
The EU-ASEAN Business Council has had two very successful working trips with ministries, sectors and leaders of the Vietnamese Government in recent times. Mr. Chris Humphrey said that this delegation was the largest EU business delegation to the ASEAN region, affirming the importance of Vietnam in cooperation policy and also an attractive investment destination for EU businesses.
Citing the results of the Business Confidence Index announced by EuroCham at the beginning of the year, Mr. Chris Humphrey emphasized the increasing confidence of EU businesses in Vietnam's economy and investment environment; expressing hope that with the more open and comprehensive business policy of the Vietnamese Government, the two sides will see more progress and development in bilateral commitments.
The EU-ASEAN Business Council and EuroCham are always ready and supportive of promoting the early ratification of the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) and will continue to make the most of the opportunities brought by the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) to increase trade between the two sides.
According to Mr. Chris Humphrey, EU enterprises always have confidence in business prospects in Vietnam; hope to continue to receive the companionship and support of the Ministry of Planning and Investment in future investment activities and cooperate to remove difficulties and obstacles still encountered.
At the meeting, representatives of EU enterprises and the Ministry of Planning and Investment exchanged and discussed a number of contents related to the roadmap and plan of the Vietnamese Government in applying global minimum tax; policies to attract businesses to invest in the fields of artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductors, healthcare, aviation, etc.; cooperation opportunities in the aviation, semiconductor, offshore wind power industries; sustainable development plan, energy transition, realizing the goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2050.
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| Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Duy Dong. Photo: MPI |
Thanking the EU business community for their support and companionship, Deputy Minister Tran Duy Dong highly appreciated the activities of EU businesses and the EU-Vietnam Business Council and EuroCham for their positive contributions to Vietnam's economic development as well as the all-round cooperation between the two sides.
Providing information on the situation and some socio-economic development policies, the Deputy Minister said that the Vietnamese Government has implemented many synchronous solutions on fiscal and monetary policies and issued many mechanisms to support business operations.
In 2023, Vietnam achieved many positive targets, inflation was controlled, major balances were ensured; total import and export turnover of goods is estimated at 683 billion USD in 2023, entering the top 20 economies with the largest trade scale; foreign investment attraction reached 36.6 billion USD. Continuing that growth momentum, Vietnam's GDP in the first quarter of this year is also estimated at 5.66%.
Regarding cooperation with the EU, the Deputy Minister stated that the EU is currently a very important economic partner of Vietnam; the largest non-refundable aid partner, the third largest export market, the fifth largest import market and the sixth largest investor of Vietnam.
On this occasion, the Deputy Minister proposed that the EU urge member countries to soon ratify the EVIPA Agreement so that bilateral trade and investment can develop strongly as well as protect the interests of businesses on both sides in a transparent, public and effective manner.
The Deputy Minister also suggested that EU businesses consider investment opportunities in areas that are priorities for Vietnam and strengths of the EU, such as high-tech, environmentally friendly investment, digital economic development projects, green economy, circular economy, knowledge economy, innovation, etc.; support the training of high-quality human resources, especially in the semiconductor industry to help Vietnam achieve the goal of training 50,000 semiconductor engineers.
The Deputy Minister affirmed that the Vietnamese Government in general and the Ministry of Planning and Investment in particular always accompany, listen to opinions and proposals of EU enterprises, build a competitive, open and transparent business environment and continue to perfect the legal system in accordance with international standards and practices, creating maximum conditions for enterprises to operate with peace of mind, thereby bringing the Vietnam - EU relationship to increasingly develop in depth and with practical effectiveness./.
Source: https://www.mpi.gov.vn/portal/Pages/2024-6-28/Doanh-nghiep-EU-luon-co-niem-tin-vao-trien-vong-ki9rg53k.aspx
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