On the occasion of the Minister of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic, Jan Mládek, visiting Vietnam and attending the 4th session of the Vietnam - Czech Republic Intergovernmental Committee on Economic, Scientific and Technological Cooperation, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) in collaboration with the Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic organised the Vietnam - Czech Business Forum in Hanoi.
The Czech Republic minister was accompanied by a delegation of leading Czech businesses operating in such fields as aerospace, defence, banking, credit insurance, wooden furniture, medical equipment, pharmacy, industrial zone design consulting, wastewater treatment, environment, information technology, security printing, television, agricultural pump and general trade.
In his opening keynote to the forum, VCCI Vice President Hoang Van Dung said that the Czech Republic and Vietnam had stable and long-lasting relationship. In recent years, the bilateral trade has been boosted, with turnover reaching US$240 million in 2013.
However, he said, this outcome is incommensurate with the market potential because the Vietnamese market is expanding and accommodating to foreign businesses. In the meantime, the Czech Republic is strong in many fields that Vietnam needs.
“This forum is a good opportunity for businesses of the two countries to learn and promote business relations, not only in the economic field but also in many other areas,” he noted.
Ho Thi Kim Thoa, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of Vietnam, said Vietnam and the Czech Republic can bring their two-way trade revenue to US$1 billion soon. Currently, Vietnam is advancing Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement negotiations and Vietnam - EU Bilateral Trade Agreement negotiations. These are important and comprehensive cooperation frameworks for the two countries to bolster the bilateral trade, she said.
The two sides also saw huge potential in investment field. Currently, the Czech Republic has 30 investment projects in Vietnam.
Deputy Minister Thoa said Vietnam needs to attract foreign investors for infrastructure, energy development, agricultural processing, and labour-intensive fields. With its inherent strengths in this these fields, Vietnam hopes to draw more Czech Republic investors in the near future.
Minister Jan Mladek affirmed that the Czech Government considers Vietnam one of 12 priority countries for trade cooperation and investment and a strategic partner in the 2015 - 2020 period. He hoped that this meeting will help lift barriers to facilitate businesses of the both sides to accelerate cooperation in the coming time, especially the areas that the Czech Republic is particularly interested in like energy, mining, and infrastructure construction.
Anh Mai
Vietnamese
