On the morning of January 20 local time, during his official visit to the Czech Republic, in Prague, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh attended and spoke at the Vietnam - Czech Business Forum.
Also attending were members of the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation, Czech Minister of Industry and Trade Lukase Vlcka, and many representatives of the business communities of the two countries.
At the Forum, the two sides listened to and discussed strategies, orientations, and opportunities for economic, trade, and investment cooperation in the coming time. Delegates said that Vietnam and the Czech Republic are two complementary economies; the large Vietnamese community in the Czech Republic has made positive contributions to the relationship between the two countries, which is a special advantage for promoting trade and investment relations.
Delegates at the Forum assessed that after the first 4 years of implementing the Vietnam - EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), import and export turnover between Vietnam and the Czech Republic has grown dramatically, averaging nearly 100% per year. In 2024, trade turnover will reach over 2 billion USD, an increase of more than 80% compared to 2023. The Czech Republic has always been Vietnam's leading trade partner in Central Eastern Europe; meanwhile, Vietnam is the Czech Republic's most important partner in ASEAN.
Regarding investment, Skoda Automobile Group is currently implementing a project to establish an automobile manufacturing joint venture with Thanh Cong Group in Quang Ninh with a total value of 500 million USD (expected to be operational in the first quarter of 2025). Czech Sev.en Global Investments Group is completing additional procedures to increase its ownership ratio to 70% at Mong Duong 2 coal-fired power plant in Quang Ninh, this is the largest Czech investment in Vietnam.
Regarding economic and trade cooperation between the two countries, it is still modest and not commensurate with the potential of the two countries. Bilateral trade turnover between the two countries only accounts for a small proportion of the total foreign trade turnover of both countries, the structure of goods is not diverse, and direct investment in each other's territory is still low.
Czech Minister of Industry and Trade Lukase Vlcka highly appreciated the strong force of Vietnamese enterprises participating in the Forum; said that Czech companies have made a name for themselves in Vietnam in a number of fields such as defense, mining, automobiles; Vietnamese goods are also very popular in the Czech Republic, especially phones, clothes, mobile phones and coffee...
The Minister affirmed that with the 75-year tradition of relations and cooperation between the two countries, for the Czech Republic, Vietnam is an important strategic partner outside the EU. Vietnam also holds an important position in ASEAN, helping the Czech Republic strengthen relations with Southeast Asian countries.
Mr. František Chaloupecký - Vice President of the Czech Industry Confederation assessed that there is no country outside Europe that is as close to the Czech Republic as Vietnam, and the Vietnamese community in the Czech Republic has also become a model of integration in this country.
Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien assessed that the Czech Republic is one of the most successful transition economies in Central and Eastern Europe, developing quite stably and dynamically, leading the European Union; is a center of technological innovation, advanced and modern science and technology, has famous cities for technology and IT services with the presence of many large international corporations and has a vibrant startup ecosystem.
The Czech Republic's automotive, mechanical, energy, aviation and defense industries are of high quality and reputation, with many enterprises capable of mastering the game and participating in the global production and supply chain. In addition, the Czech Republic is also known as a country with many achievements in developing renewable energy with clean energy solutions and green technology.
For its part, Vietnam has been consistently evaluated by the international community as one of the most dynamic economies, a bright spot in the economic picture of the region and the world; and at the same time, a safe and attractive destination for foreign businesses, partners and investors.
Currently, Vietnam has the 3rd largest economy in ASEAN and the 32nd largest in the world; Top 20 economies in international trade and Top 15 countries attracting the most FDI in the world, along with a very vibrant investment and business atmosphere, considered one of the "factories" of the world.
In addition, Vietnam also has strengths in terms of a large population, stable politics; guaranteed security; a young, abundant, dynamic human resource, capable of absorbing new science, technology and good integration, along with advantages in available production space and a large consumer market (including a domestic market of over 100 million people with purchasing power and markets of nearly 70 economies in 17 free trade agreements (bilateral and multilateral) of which Vietnam is a member).
Cooperation in the trend of diversification, greening, and digitalization
Speaking at the Forum, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh welcomed the Ministries of Industry and Trade of the two countries for coordinating with relevant agencies to organize this important Forum, contributing to connecting the two economies, connecting and cooperating between businesses, aiming to promote good and effective relations between the two countries.
Over the past 75 years, Vietnam has always remembered the wholehearted, righteous, selfless and pure assistance of the Czech Republic to Vietnam, especially in helping to train many intellectuals and skilled workers. Recently, the Czech side has determined the legal status and recognized the Vietnamese community as an ethnic minority.
On that good basis, this visit of the Vietnamese delegation is an event to kick off the 2025 celebration of the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries; the two sides also plan to upgrade relations, creating better opportunities and convenience for businesses and investors of the two countries to come together.
In particular, the Prime Minister said that Vietnam has decided to apply short-term visa exemption for Czech citizens within the framework of the Vietnam Tourism Stimulus Program in 2025.
The Prime Minister assessed that today's world is becoming politically polarized, diversifying markets, products, supply chains, greening production, business and services, and digitizing all human activities. All of these affect the entire population, and the issues are comprehensive and global. Therefore, there must be a comprehensive, global approach to cooperation, to best exploit the potential differences, outstanding opportunities, and competitive advantages in bilateral relations for mutual development.
The Prime Minister said that cooperation between the two countries must be consistent with the above-mentioned trends of greening, digitalization, and diversification; there must be new ways of doing things, creating new driving forces, renewing traditional growth drivers (investment, export, consumption) and promoting new growth drivers (digital economy, green economy, circular economy, sharing economy, knowledge economy, creative economy).
The Prime Minister suggested that businesses of the two countries should proactively connect with each other, relying on each other's strengths to do business, develop, diversify products, markets, and supply chains, especially focusing on emerging industries such as chip manufacturing, big data, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, internet of things, biomedical technology, optoelectronics, etc.
The Head of Government said that Vietnam has a dynamic economy and is the center of growth; it is focusing on promoting three strategic breakthroughs in the spirit of open institutions, smooth infrastructure, human resources and smart governance. In particular, perfecting institutions is the "breakthrough of breakthroughs", cutting administrative procedures, streamlining the organizational apparatus, considering institutions as resources, driving forces, liberating resources, contributing to reducing compliance costs for businesses and people.
At the same time, breakthroughs in building synchronous infrastructure, including transport, energy, healthcare, education, social infrastructure, etc., will contribute to reducing logistics costs and increasing the competitiveness of goods. The Prime Minister said that Vietnam is promoting railways and air routes connecting the two economies of Vietnam and the Czech Republic.
Along with that, make breakthroughs in human resources, especially training high-quality human resources to meet the needs of businesses and investors, and improve labor productivity.
The Prime Minister assessed that both sides have effectively exploited the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), and suggested that both sides strive to achieve a trade turnover of 5 billion USD in the coming years.
Welcoming the investment of Sev.en Global Investments Group in Mong Duong 2 Thermal Power Plant and Skoda's automobile factory project in Quang Ninh, the Prime Minister said that he is promoting the ratification of the Vietnam - EU Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) to facilitate investment between the two countries, increasing the investment capital of Czech enterprises in Vietnam to 2-3 billion USD in the next 5 years.
The Prime Minister called on businesses of the two countries to promote connectivity and cooperation to increase investment in infrastructure, especially green infrastructure, energy infrastructure, etc.; and invest in emerging industries, science and technology, innovation and digital transformation.
Believing that valuing time, intelligence and decisiveness are the decisive factors for success; the Prime Minister suggested that both sides need to promote the spirit of "harmonized benefits, shared risks", listening and understanding, sharing vision and action, doing, enjoying, winning and developing together, sharing joy, happiness and pride; "what is said must be done, what is committed must be done, what is done must bring about specific, measurable results".
Source: https://baotainguyenmoitruong.vn/viet-nam-czech-huong-toi-muc-tieu-thuong-mai-5-ty-usd-va-dau-tu-3-ty-usd-385891.html
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