NA Chairman attends Vietnam – Austria Business Forum

National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue (L) and Vice President of the Austrian Chamber of Commerce Richard Schenz. Photo: VNA

The event was co-hosted by the Austrian Chamber of Commerce, the Vietnamese Ministry of Planning and Investment, and the Vietnamese Embassy in Austria.

In his opening speech, Hue said Vietnam advocates drawing foreign investment selectively with quality, efficiency, high technology and environment protection as key criteria, contributing to the country’s sustainable socio-economic development.

He described Austria as one of Vietnam’s important export markets and now one of the five biggest importers of Vietnamese goods in the European Union. Two-way trade hit 3.2 billion USD in 2020, he said.

The European country is investing in 37 projects worth nearly 150 million USD in Vietnam, mostly in manufacturing, processing and science-technology.

According to the top legislator, both sides need to step up the exchange of information regarding each country’s investment policies, particularly in clean energy, infrastructure, telecommunications, digital economy and application of bio-technology.

At the same time, he suggested upholding the role of the Vietnam – Austria Joint Committee on Economic and Trade Cooperation, as well as carrying out investment and trade promotion programmes in various forms, thus making it easier for firms to better understand each other and opportunities in each country.

The two countries’ relevant authorities need to continue facilitating two-way trade and investment flows on the mutually beneficial basis, via the increased exchange of business delegations to explore opportunities, he said.

Hue also called on Austrian enterprises to urge the Austrian legislature and Government to complete procedures for the approval of the EU - Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) at the earliest.

He affirmed that Vietnam commits to creating the best business environment towards meeting standards of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

The Vietnamese NA is working on a comprehensive programme to perfect the legal system towards creating the best favourable conditions for investors at home and abroad, he said.

On the occasion, he proposed Austrian firms support the Austrian Government’s supply of vaccines and medical equipment to Vietnam in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic.

Austrian businesses hailed Vietnam as an important investment market in Southeast Asia and wished to hold more business-to-business meetings to discuss more in detail.

Representatives from the Austrian Chamber of Commerce also pledged to help Vietnam attract quality investors from the European nation.

VNA