PM attends Vietnam-Luxembourg business forum, meets economic groups

LUXEMBOURG – Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính attended a business forum as part of his visit to Luxembourg on December 9 (local time).

Luxembourg is running 58 projects worth over US$2.6 billion in Việt Nam, ranking 17th out of 141 countries and territories investing in the Southeast Asian nation, according to the forum’s organisers.

Luxembourg is also the third largest European investor in Việt Nam, with capital mainly poured into information-communications, and real estate.

The two-way trade reached $96 million in 2019, $110.7 million in 2020 and $181.6 million last year, a rise of 64 per cent.

The forum was intended to identify investment potential and opportunities of each side, thus enabling businesses, investors and international organisations to make investment decisions.

In his remarks, PM Chính said Việt Nam was building three pillars of society –socialist democracy, a law-governed socialist State and a socialist-oriented market economy, while working on three strategic breakthroughs – institutions, human resources and infrastructure.

In the process, Việt Nam would need resources and external support to develop its capital, stock, bond and credit markets, the PM stressed, expressing his hope that Luxembourg would share its experience in these fields.

He assured investors from Europe in general and Luxembourg in particular as the Vietnamese Government had been doing its best to improve the investment and business environment, and protect investors just like Vietnamese citizens.

According to the leader, Việt Nam has signed a total of 16 free trade agreements (FTAs) with 64 big markets worldwide, along with many deals on investment protection and double taxation avoidance.

PM Chính said Việt Nam was in need of high-skilled laboured and those that hold university and post-graduate degrees, noting that he and Luxembourg PM Xavier Bettel had agreed to work together to improve higher education in Việt Nam.

With the good bilateral relationship, especially in trade and investment, and the big numbers of small and medium-sized enterprises in both countries, Việt Nam and Luxembourg have favourable conditions to boost their cooperation, according to the Vietnamese leader.

Việt Nam has regarded Luxembourg as a bridge to the EU and Việt Nam will be a bridge for Luxembourg to penetrate into the ASEAN market.

The PM said he hoped that the two countries’ investors would share experiences and collaborate to deal with obstacles emerging during their cooperation.

Carlo Thelen, Director General of the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, said Việt Nam was the 9th biggest trade partner of Luxembourg outside the EU and had the highest economic growth in ASEAN along with potential for the building of production and manufacturing centres.

Luxembourg firms strongly believed that the relationship between the two countries would grow further in the time ahead, he said.

Meeting with leaders of Luxembourg economic groups

As part of his official visit to Luxembourg,  Prime Minister Pham Minh Chính received leaders of several large economic groups of Luxembourg and Europe on the same day, during which he affirmed that Việt Nam always created all favourable conditions and safe and transparent investment environment for foreign investors.

The Vietnamese government leader said that Việt Nam pursues a policy of selective investment attraction, basing on criteria such as quality, efficiency, technology and environmental protection.

The country gives priority to investment projects in the fields of high technology, innovation, research and development, and those helping Vietnamese enterprises to participate in value chains, promoting digital and green economy, circular economy towards contributing to sustainable development, he said.

Meeting with Luc Provost, CEO of B-Medical Systems Group – a Belgian corporation in medical technology and pharmaceuticals, PM Chính applauded the cooperation plan of B-Medical Systems with the Ministry of Health and the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology of Việt Nam, affirming that research and technology transfer cooperation in the medical field is a major policy of Việt Nam in its vaccine strategy.

He suggested B-Medical Systems continue to research and invest in manufacturing high-quality and high-tech medical equipment in Việt Nam, and promote technology transfer to Vietnamese partners in the coming time, noting that this would be one of the sectors that Việt Nam gives priority to in attracting investment.

The Vietnamese Government would accompany and create favourable conditions for the Belgian firm to invest and do business effectively in Việt Nam, the PM said.

Hosting Maxim Straus, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Cargolux Group – one of the largest cargo airlines in Europe,  the Vietnamese leader spoke highly of Cargolux’s effective business and cooperation activities in Việt Nam over the past 15 years, saying that those contributed to connecting Vietnamese goods and markets with European and global markets.

He thanked Cargolux for its close coordination and support in transporting vaccines, medical equipment and other goods to help Việt Nam during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The PM  welcomed Cargolux’s cooperation with Việt Nam’s airlines to expand its network of routes and cargo transportation systems both in Việt Nam and within ASEAN, saying that Việt Nam was poised to become Cargolux’s main transit point in Southeast Asia.

In his meeting with Daniela Cattolico, vice president and head of the Global Procurement and Logistic of SMS/Paul Wurth Group – a global provider of metallurgical technology, PM Chính welcomed the proposal and plan of the firm to expand its business and investment in Việt Nam.

He suggested that the group transfer technology and share experience with Vietnamese partners to help them improve capacity and modernise business models, towards meeting the regulations and standards of the European Union (EU), reducing impacts on the environment and moving towards a green and clean economy, contributing to realising Việt Nam’s carbon neutrality goal by 2050.

The Vietnamese leader proposed Paul Wurth further strengthen cooperation with Vietnamese partners, especially small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and develop supply chains in Việt Nam. VNA/VNS