There is still a lot of room for trade and investment cooperation between Vietnam and the Asia-Europe region.

There is still a lot of room for cooperation.

Following the success of the 2022 Forum, on November 24, in Hanoi, the Department of European and American Markets (Ministry of Industry and Trade) organized the Vietnam - Asia-Europe Trade Forum with the theme "Adapting to the context - Exploiting potential". The Forum took place in the form of direct and online cooperation with the Vietnamese Trade Office system abroad.

The Vietnam - Asia-Europe Trade Forum is an annual event organized by the Ministry of Industry and Trade with the aim of updating the business community with information on policies and market demands of countries in the region, thereby supporting businesses not only to expand the export market of Vietnam's key products to the Asia-Europe region, but also to study the possibility of investment cooperation between the two sides.

Overview of the Vietnam - Asia-Europe Trade Forum with the theme "Adapting to the context - Exploiting potential"

Opening the Forum, Mr. Ta Hoang Linh - Director of the European - American Market Department emphasized that the Eurasian market is a traditional market of Vietnam in the past and is now considered a potential export market with much room for cooperation.

The Asia-Europe market is a large inter-regional region of 28 countries, stretching from Eastern Europe to Central Asia, with a total area of ​​about 23.5 million ^km2 , a population of more than 400 million people and a total GDP of nearly 4,500 billion USD. This is also a region rich in mineral resources, especially oil, gas, non-ferrous metals, coal, grain, etc.

Regarding trade cooperation, citing data from Vietnam Customs, Mr. Ta Hoang Linh said that in 2022, in the context of the world economic and political situation having many unusual fluctuations, with many difficulties and challenges, bilateral trade between Vietnam and countries in the Asia-Europe region only reached 13.3 billion USD, down 9.7% over the same period in 2021. Of which, exports reached 8.6 billion USD, down 13.1%, imports reached 4.67 billion USD, down 2.9% over the same period in 2021.

In the first 9 months of 2023, trade in goods between Vietnam and countries in the Eurasia region reached 9 billion USD, down 6.5% over the same period in 2022. Of which, Vietnam's exports to this region were 6.3 billion USD, down 1.2%; imports reached 2.7 billion USD, down 19%.

Mr. Ta Hoang Linh commented that the Asia - Europe region is still a potential market for Vietnamese enterprises.

“ Although trade between the two sides has decreased in recent times, the Asia - Europe region is still a potential market for Vietnamese enterprises ,” said Director Ta Hoang Linh, citing that Vietnam’s export turnover to the Asia-Europe region accounts for only about 2.4% of Vietnam’s total export turnover and about 0.4% of the region’s total import turnover. Investment projects from the Asia-Europe region currently account for only about 0.3% of total foreign direct investment in Vietnam.

Not to mention, Vietnam and the Asia-Europe region have formed solid institutions and frameworks as the foundation for the development of bilateral cooperation. Among them, we must mention the Free Trade Agreements: VN-EAEU FTA, EVFTA and EVIPA... Along with that are 14 Joint Committees/Intergovernmental Committees and a Bilateral Economic Cooperation Consultation mechanism... It can be said that these cooperation mechanisms have been and are being effectively implemented, creating a solid foundation for Vietnamese enterprises and enterprises of Asia-Europe countries to strengthen cooperation in many fields, especially economics, trade and investment.

In addition, according to the leader of the European - American Market Department, the Asia - Europe region is also home to a large Vietnamese community. Therefore, promoting information exchange, sharing of trade experiences, and connections between businesses in Vietnam and the Vietnamese community in this region will support Vietnam's trade and investment cooperation with Asia - Europe to be more effective and practical.

Adapt to unleash your full potential

Sharing the trends and opportunities in economic, trade and investment cooperation with Azerbaijan, Ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijan to Vietnam - Mr. Shovgi Mehdizada said that the cooperation opportunities between the two sides are still very wide. In 2020, the bilateral trade turnover between the two countries was 255,479 thousand USD, by 2022 it was 594,609 thousand USD and in 10 months of 2023 it was 462,347 thousand USD. According to Ambassador Shovgi Mehdizada, in the coming time, Vietnam and Azerbaijan can further promote cooperation in potential areas such as: Trade, energy infrastructure, cultural exchange, etc.

Ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijan to Vietnam Shovgi Mehdizada delivered the opening speech at the Forum.

Introducing the potential for cooperation with Kazakhstan, Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Vietnam Kanat Tumysh informed that Kazakhstan is a country with a favorable geographical location in connecting trade between Vietnam and Central Asia, Russia and Europe. In 2022, the total foreign investment capital in Kazakhstan reached 28 billion USD, an increase of 17.5% compared to 2021. The 10 countries with the largest investment capital in Kazakhstan include: the Netherlands, the United States, Switzerland, Belgium, the Russian Federation, South Korea, China, France, the UK and Turkey. The main areas of focus for foreign investors include: Machine manufacturing, renewable energy, metallurgy and mineral exploitation, and agriculture. In October 2022, Vietnam also opened a direct flight route with Kazakhstan operated by Vietjet connecting the cities of Almaty, Astana and Nha Trang city. This is a great opportunity to promote trade cooperation between the two countries.

Similarly, updating on opportunities to promote goods to the Western Balkan market in the context of the country preparing to join the EU, the Vietnam Trade Office in Bulgaria said that economic, trade and investment relations between Vietnam and the Western Balkans are still very modest. Export turnover from Vietnam to the Western Balkans is below 20 million USD/year. Of which, Serbia is the largest market with a turnover of approximately 7 million USD/year.

Vietnam's main export items to the Western Balkans are: instant coffee, tea, spices, seafood, textiles, footwear, etc. Other strong items of Vietnam are textiles, footwear, wooden furniture, etc. The export turnover is still quite small, accounting for less than 1% of the market share in this region. Notably, currently, Vietnamese goods are being exported to the Western Balkans through intermediary countries in Europe, especially Germany, Italy, Hungary, and the Czech Republic.

Analyzing the causes, the Vietnamese Trade Office in Bulgaria said that it was due to the remote location, no direct flights; the market was fragmented, small and had weak purchasing power when GDP per capita was still low... To overcome these challenges, the Trade Office said that Vietnamese enterprises need to consider the Western Balkans region as a common market. More broadly, the entire Balkans region can be considered a market with similar characteristics to adapt to the market context.

The Vietnam - Asia - Europe Trade Forum is an annual event organized by the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

To concretize cooperation opportunities between Vietnam and the Asia-Europe region, Director Ta Hoang Linh affirmed that the Ministry of Industry and Trade, as the agency in charge of bilateral and multilateral economic and trade cooperation activities in the Asia-Europe region, will continue to coordinate with embassies, trade representative agencies of countries in the region, Vietnamese Trade Offices abroad... to accompany the business community to grasp and take advantage of new cooperation opportunities, remove difficulties and obstacles in trade activities.

“ The Ministry of Industry and Trade will continue to perfect and implement comprehensive solutions to promote trade and investment activities between Vietnam and the European-American market in general and the Eurasian market in particular, ” Mr. Ta Hoang Linh affirmed.

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