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Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at the forum |
Luxembourg is running 58 projects worth over 2.6 billion USD in Vietnam, ranking 17th out of 141 countries and territories investing in the Southeast Asian nation, according to the forum’s organizers.
Luxembourg is also the third largest European investor in Vietnam, with capital mainly poured into information-communications, and real estate.
The two-way trade reached 96 million USD in 2019, 110.7 million USD in 2020 and 181.6 million USD last year, a rise of 64%.
The forum was intended to identify investment potential and opportunities of each side, thus enabling businesses, investors and international organizations to make investment decisions.
In his remarks, PM Pham Minh Chinh said Vietnam is 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, Vietnam needs resources and external support to develop its capital, stock, bond and credit markets, the PM stressed, expressing his hope that Luxembourg will share its experience in these fields.
He assured investors from Europe in general and Luxembourg in particular because the Vietnamese Government has been doing its best to improve the investment and business environment, and protect investors just like Vietnamese citizens.
According to the leader, Vietnam 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 Pham Minh Chinh said Vietnam is in need of high-skilled labored 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 the Southeast Asian nation.
With the good bilateral relationship, especially in trade and investment, and the big numbers of small-and medium-sized enterprises in both countries, Vietnam and Luxembourg have favorable conditions to boost their cooperation, he said.
Vietnam has regarded Luxembourg as a bridge to the E.U. and Vietnam will be a bridge for Luxembourg to penetrate into the ASEAN market, he noted.
The PM said he hopes that the two countries’ investors will share experience and collaborate to deal with obstacles emerging during their cooperation.
Carlo Thelen, Director General of the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, said Vietnam is the 9th biggest trade partner of Luxembourg outside the E.U. and has the highest economic growth in ASEAN along with potential for the building of production and manufacturing centers.
Luxembourg firms strongly believe that the relationship between the two countries will grow further in the time ahead, he said.
Source: VNA