Vietnam and India still have a lot of room for trade and investment cooperation, especially in the fields of information technology and digital economy.
This is the content shared by delegates at the Workshop "Potential for investment cooperation between Vietnam and India" organized by the Ho Chi Minh City Investment and Trade Promotion Center (ITPC) in coordination with the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Ho Chi Minh City, February 27.
Mr. Vo Van Hoan, Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, emphasized the key role of information technology in the comprehensive development strategy of Ho Chi Minh City. Accordingly, the City identifies information technology as not only a key economic sector but also a foundation to improve the quality of people's lives, improve administrative management efficiency and promote sustainable development.
The city is focusing on investing in digital infrastructure, promoting digital transformation in all areas from education, healthcare, transportation to public services, towards the goal of building e-government, digital economy, digital society and smart cities.
Ho Chi Minh City has achieved impressive achievements in the field of digital economy with the rate of digital technology enterprises reaching 12.88%, equivalent to more than 33,000 enterprises; the rate of digital platform enterprises reaching 11.63%, equivalent to more than 30,000 enterprises.
Representatives of the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the Ho Chi Minh City Business Association (HUBA) signed a cooperation agreement at the workshop. (Photo: Xuan Anh/VNA)
In the context of the 4.0 Industrial Revolution, Ho Chi Minh City is committed to continuing to invest heavily in information technology infrastructure, creating a smart, creative environment, attracting domestic and foreign technology enterprises, especially countries with advanced technology levels such as India.
Mr. Vo Van Hoan highly appreciated India as an information technology powerhouse with extensive experience and abundant resources. The Indian information technology industry is on the rise, expected to reach a revenue of 350 billion USD by 2025. Ho Chi Minh City expressed its desire to establish extensive cooperation with Indian enterprises, from leading technology corporations to potential startups, to jointly implement high-tech projects, especially in the fields of artificial intelligence (AI), big data, cloud computing and specialized software solutions for different industries.
In addition to cooperation in technology and projects, Ho Chi Minh City pays special attention to cooperation with Indian partners in the fields of training, organizing seminars, sharing knowledge and professional experience. At the same time, the city proposes to increase the application of technology platforms to organize online forums and seminars on culture, education and economic cooperation, creating a bridge for exchange, learning and promoting bilateral cooperation.
Ms. Cao Thi Phi Van, Deputy Director of ITPC, informed that Ho Chi Minh City is striving to realize the goal of increasing the proportion of the digital economy to 25% of GRDP by 2025, through policies to support small and medium enterprises in digital transformation, promote e-commerce and facilitate innovation. The investment potential in industrial parks, high technology, especially in the field of information technology and digital technology in Ho Chi Minh City is huge. The city also has special incentive policies for information technology enterprises, especially in the field of research and development (R&D).
“The young, dynamic, creative and abundant workforce of about 1 million IT engineers is a special competitive advantage of Ho Chi Minh City. More specifically, when investing in Ho Chi Minh City in particular and Vietnam in general, businesses not only have a local consumption market of over 100 million people but also directly connect with more than 60 countries and territories through 17 bilateral and multilateral Free Trade Agreements (FTAs),” Ms. Cao Thi Phi Van added.
Mr. Vipra Pandey, Consul General of the Republic of India in Ho Chi Minh City, speaks at the conference. (Photo: Xuan Anh/VNA)
Regarding the development strategy, Dr. Rajeev Singh, Director General of the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC), emphasized that the cooperation between India and the ASEAN region has made strong strides in many economic areas, including trade and investment, connectivity, energy, culture, people-to-people exchanges and maritime security. The strong bilateral relationship between India and Vietnam has great potential to promote further trade and investment cooperation. Currently, the bilateral trade turnover between India and Vietnam has only reached nearly 15 billion USD.
Indian investment in Vietnam is estimated at around US$2 billion, including investments through third countries. Major areas of Indian investment in Vietnam include energy, mineral exploration, agro-processing, sugar, tea, coffee, agrochemicals, information technology and auto components.
According to Dr. Rajeev Singh, India is on a strong digital transformation trajectory and sees it as key to achieving two important development goals, achieving net zero emissions by 2070 and becoming a developed nation by 2047. To address the rapid urbanization and its associated challenges, the “Smart City” model has emerged as a promising solution. The Indian government also sees the immense potential of this model.
With Vietnam’s commitment to smart urban development, digital transformation and environmental sustainability, the two countries have an opportunity to promote strategic partnerships and deepen cooperation. This is also an opportunity for Indian businesses to collaborate with Vietnamese partners to expand their presence in Vietnam as well as seek new investment opportunities.
After the workshop, the Indian business delegation will connect directly with Vietnamese businesses and visit Quang Trung Software Park to promote cooperation opportunities in the future./.
![[Photo] Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chairs Government Conference with localities on economic growth](https://vstatic.vietnam.vn/vietnam/resource/IMAGE/2025/2/21/f34583484f2643a2a2b72168a0d64baa)
Comment (0)