Vietnam-Slovakia Business Forum Boosting Co-operation to a New Height

Over 180 Vietnamese and Slovak enterprises attended the Vietnam-Slovakia Business Forum which was held in Hanoi on October 17. The event was jointly held by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), the Bratislava Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Ministry of Economics of Slovakia, the Slovak President Office, the Bangkok-based Slovak Embassy and Ho Chi Minh City-based honourable consul on the occasion of an official visit to Vietnam by Slovak President Ivan Gasparovic.

 

The delegation consisted of leading Slovak enterprises in mining, raw materials, food and drink, welding products, sportswear making, mineral water, information technology, airplane, automobile, heat-resistant materials, electricity and tourism.

 

Igor Junas, chairman of the Bratislava Chamber of Commerce and Industry and head of the Slovak business delegation, said that the trade relations between Slovakia and Vietnam were established long time ago. VCCI and the Slovakia Chamber of Commerce and Industry established their ties in 1996 and signed a co-operation agreement. Representatives of the two chambers and some enterprises had meetings in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in 2000 and in Bratislava in 2005. Slovak enterprises say they want to co-operate with Vietnamese enterprises in the form of joint venture or technology transfer, or goods export.

 

Slovak Economic Minister L’ubomír Jahnátek said that Slovakia had always followed closely Vietnam’s international integration to become an official member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Slovakia had always supported Vietnam’s efforts to join WTO and believes that the efforts will be realised during a meeting of the WTO Council in November.

 

The Slovak Government is creating favourable conditions for foreign companies operating in Slovakia. This can be seen via the amendment and supplement to its tax law. With an income tax rate of 19 per cent, Slovakia has become one of the countries having the lowest tax burden. L’ubomír Jahnátek stressed that the Slovak Trade and Investment Development Agency, which was established for promoting foreign investment, was always ready to provide support for new investors, providing them free services and support when they operate in Slovakia…

 

Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, deputy minister of trade of Vietnam, said that despite significant results in trade relations between two countries over the past years, they had not matched the two countries’ potential. At present, the trade ties between the two countries have not reached a balance point. According to statistics, in 2005, Slovakia imported from Vietnam goods worth US$23.5 million and exported US$2.9 million worth goods to Vietnam. In comparison with 2004, total import and export turnover increased from US$23.99 million to US$28.2 million.

 

What has constrained the development of trade ties between Vietnam and Slovakia includes a long geographic distance and a shortage of attention from both Vietnamese and Slovak enterprises. However, according to L’ubomír Jahnátek, the situation would change with the Economic Agreement signed during the visit to Vietnam by the Slovak President, which would help boost trade ties between the two countries. Furthermore, bilateral trade ties would be promoted when Vietnam and Slovakia ended their negotiations on the Agreement on Investment Support and Protection and the Agreement on Double Tax Avoidance.

 

Under this circumstance, as a full member of the European Union (EU), the first visit of the Slovakian President is an important milestone in consolidating and enhancing the traditional friendship relationship and the multi-faceted cooperation, especially in the field of economic and commercial fields.

 

As the leader of the business mission and the director of a company supplying construction materials for cement plants and steel laminating mills of Vietnam since 1976, I myself and other Slovakian businesses wish to have a long-termed relation with Vietnam. I think the cooperative dimension of the two countries is very wide. Through this visit, we want to restore the relations with ministries, branches and companies in Vietnam.

 

 

The cooperative possibility of the two countries is very high as I highly appreciate the official visit of the Slovakian President and the accompanying business mission.

 

Through the Vietnam-Slovakia business forums held in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, businesses of the two nations will have chances to survey and seek partners in the field of food, garment, banking, internet-based services, tourism, mechanics and especially technology – the strong point of Slovakia.

 

 

We specialise in manufacturing electrical parts. We used to be known as the leading electrical parts with the top trademark of SLODA and we were highly appreciated by Vietnamese electrical companies.

 

We appreciated the growth of the Vietnamese power industry and thought that the cooperative possibility is huge. Today, I am present here to seek old partners and restore our relations. Hopefully, our presence in the Vietnamese market will bring in mutual benefits.

 

 

We are very happy to have presence in Vietnam because we thought that Vietnam will be a big market in the future.

 

This is my first arrival in Vietnam. However, with my collection of information, the investment environment in Vietnam has been increasingly bettered and more and more foreign investors arrived in the country. I think not only Vietnam but all countries want the investment environment to be more transparent. If Vietnam can resolve this matter, many companies will pour money into the country. I wish a favourable investment environment make foreign firms like us feel more secure in investing, producing and cooperating with Vietnamese partners.