Nghe An provincial leaders attending the workshop included comrade Thai Thanh Quy - Member of the Party Central Committee, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Council, Head of the Provincial National Assembly Delegation. Also attending were comrade Pham Trong Hoang - Member of the Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee, Chairman of the Provincial Party Committee Inspection Committee and a high-ranking delegation of Nghe An province including leaders of many departments, branches and localities.
The workshop was attended by Ambassador Nguyen Thanh Hai - Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Vietnam to India. On the side of the Indian Chamber of Commerce, there was Mr. Nikhil Kanodia - President of the North, Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC). Also attending were representatives of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs and businesses and entrepreneurs.
INDIA IS A MAJOR PARTNER, PRIORITIZING COOPERATION
The history of Vietnam - India relations originated from the process of cultural and religious exchange more than 2,000 years ago and was built and nurtured by great leaders of the two nations such as President Ho Chi Minh, leader Mahatma Gandhi, Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, and generations of leaders and people of the two countries.
After more than 50 years of establishing official relations, despite complex fluctuations in the regional and world situation, Vietnam - India relations have always been maintained increasingly well, with high political trust and great potential for cooperation.
In particular, since 1992, India and Vietnam have established extensive economic linkages, including oil exploration, agriculture and manufacturing. In July 2007, the relationship between the two countries was upgraded to a “Strategic Partnership” and further upgraded to a “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership” in 2016.
In recent years, development cooperation between Nghe An province and Indian partners has achieved initial results, especially in the fields of investment and trade, actively contributing to promoting economic and social development.
Nghe An currently has 5 FDI projects from India with a total committed capital of nearly 39 million USD, ranking 8th among foreign investment countries, mainly processing stone and wood. The total import-export turnover in 11 months of 2023 between Nghe An and India reached nearly 70 million USD.
However, the results achieved are still not commensurate with the potential, advantages and expectations of both sides when from only 200 million USD in 2000, bilateral trade between India and Vietnam has grown steadily over the years.
According to the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC), in the financial year 2021-2022, bilateral trade between India and Vietnam increased by 27% to reach 14.14 billion USD.
India is one of Vietnam's top eight trading partners, while Vietnam is India's 15th largest trading partner and fourth in Southeast Asia.
Recently, Nghe An has also achieved many achievements in attracting FDI. 2023 is the most successful year ever in attracting FDI of the province with a total registered capital of nearly 1.5 billion USD, ranking 9th out of 63 provinces and cities nationwide; thereby raising the total FDI capital by the end of 2023 to 3.85 billion USD with 131 projects from 14 countries and territories.
Therefore, the workshop will open up contact activities, creating a bridge for Indian businesses to come and learn about and invest in Nghe An province, especially in the fields that the province prioritizes attracting and India has strengths in, specifically: Industry of manufacturing equipment, electronic components, information technology, telecommunications; manufacturing components, assembling automobiles; pharmaceutical processing; high-tech agriculture; financial services, banking, insurance, logistics; training of high-quality human resources; resort and ecological tourism; construction and operation of seaport infrastructure;...
In his welcoming speech at the conference, Mr. Nikhil Kanodia - President of the Indian Chamber of Commerce, Northern Region (ICC) emphasized: The relationship between India and Vietnam is one of India's most important bilateral relationships in Southeast Asia.
Assessing that Nghe An has become an attractive investment destination for both Vietnamese and international businesses, Mr. Nikhil Kanodia expressed his commitment to support to facilitate Nghe An to connect with investors in fields such as: Automobile, pharmaceuticals and electronics... not only in this workshop but also in the future.
Speaking at the workshop, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Vietnam to India Nguyen Thanh Hai assessed: Nghe An is one of the dynamic provinces in Central Vietnam with a good transportation system and infrastructure, including a special economic zone with many incentives.
Furthermore, when foreign investors invest in Vietnam in general and Nghe An in particular, they also benefit from having access to the ASEAN market of 650 million people and more than 60 major economies in the world with 0% tax thanks to 15 Free Trade Agreements that Vietnam has signed.
Ambassador Nguyen Thanh Hai also commented that Nghe An made the right decision to come to India - one of the fastest growing economies. This year, the country's economic growth could reach 7%. India's GDP ranks 5th in the global market and will soon become 3rd in the next few years. India is the largest market in terms of population, with strengths in the fields of information technology, pharmaceuticals, automobiles and many other fields.
At the workshop, Nghe An Provincial Party Secretary Thai Thanh Quy discussed and shared about the good traditional friendship between Vietnam and India; thereby affirming that Nghe An always considers India as one of the major and important partners, prioritizing cooperation and development in the present and the future. This cooperation opportunity is even greater and more favorable after Vietnam and India upgraded their relationship to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2016.
“The legal frameworks that the Vietnamese State has built are stable, transparent, and favorable for foreign enterprises, including Indian enterprises, to continue operating, expanding their scale, and developing long-term in Vietnam, especially in areas where India has strengths and Nghe An province has needs,” said the Secretary of the Nghe An Provincial Party Committee.
Nghe An province is determined to devote appropriate resources to best meet the requirements of investors, including investors from India.
In particular, Provincial Party Secretary Thai Thanh Quy affirmed: The province strives to effectively implement the "5 readiness" (planning and development space; essential infrastructure; investment premises; human resources; supporting procedures for investors) to welcome businesses to invest successfully, sustainably, and long-term in Nghe An.
COMMITMENT TO SUPPORT AND PROMOTE COOPERATION WITH NGHE AN
At the workshop, representatives of business associations, Indian businesses and entrepreneurs watched a film introducing Nghe An province and listened to the leaders of the provincial Investment, Trade and Tourism Promotion Center introduce policies to attract investment in Nghe An province. Experts from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Indian Chamber of Commerce also had discussions and suggested additional issues to attract capital flows from businesses from the world's fifth largest economy to invest in Nghe An.
Mr. C. Raj Shekhar - State Officer, Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India expressed: I am very pleased to witness the rapid development of Vietnam and Nghe An province.
“We at the Ministry of External Affairs are committed to supporting and promoting cooperation between Nghe An and the Indian states,” said Mr. C. Raj Shekhar, adding: “Vietnam is welcomed as a close friend of India. The legendary leader Ho Chi Minh is a great inspiration to all Indians and a household name. In the states, we have coordinating officials to accompany and guide you.”
Dr. Subhash Goyal - Chairman of the National Committee on Tourism, Aviation and Accommodation Services, Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) suggested that Nghe An should continue to prioritize comprehensive development of human resources, science, technology and innovation to promote its cultural values.
“There needs to be a focus on education and training and attracting high-quality human resources. There is a huge scope for cross-border start-up collaboration to encourage maximum innovation,” he said, adding that visa authorization systems need to be facilitated to encourage human capital investment.
Also at the conference, the Organizing Committee organized a forum with questions and answers and discussions. Indian businesses expressed their interest and appreciation for the prospects of attracting investment, competitive production costs, abundant human resources, and competitive investment support incentives.
Provincial Party Secretary Thai Thanh Quy and leaders of several departments and branches directly answered questions raised by Indian businessmen and enterprises, especially in the fields of tourism and human resource training.
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