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Vice Chairman of HCMC People's Committee Vo Van Hoan and delegates at the conference |
On October 24 (local time), in London, the HCMC People's Committee hosted a conference titled "Conference on Investment - Trade Collaboration Promotion between the UK and HCMC, Vietnam 2023."
The conference was attended by Mr. Vo Van Hoan, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of HCMC; Mr. Nguyen Hoang Long, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the UK and Northern Ireland; Mr. Mark Garnier, UK Prime Minister's Trade Envoy for Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, as well as more than 80 businesses from HCMC and the UK.
At the conference, organizations and businesses from the UK and HCMC offered valuable insights and recommendations for promoting investment and trade. They have also expressed a strong desire to bolster cooperation and trade with enterprises in the two localities in the direction of sustainable investment and business practices.
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An overview of the conference |
Regarding the city's investment environment, Mr. Tran Phu Lu, Director of the HCMC Investment and Trade Promotion Center (ITPC), provided an overview of the city's investment environment and incentive policies, as well as highlighting some key points from Resolution 98/2023/QH15 of the National Assembly on specific mechanisms and policies for the development of HCMC.
Mr. Tran Phu Lu explained that this would provide the necessary legal framework to harness the city's potential and advantages, leading to significant advancements in resolving HCMC's socioeconomic issues.
The ITPC Director emphasized that HCMC enjoys significant advantages over other regions thanks to its favorable geographical location, which connects to both domestic and international areas, a well-established infrastructure, an abundance of high-quality human resources, a dynamic and robust economy, and the largest consumer market in Vietnam. Furthermore, the city takes pride in its diverse cultural heritage, high living standards, and a commitment to continuously improving administrative processes, which results in an open investment environment and proactively assists in resolving obstacles for investors.
Mr. Mark Garnier acknowledged the considerable advancement and robust development of the city's economic potential, particularly in high-tech sectors. Furthermore, he expressed willingness to assist HCMC in attaining mutual development objectives, with the shared anticipation that areas like healthcare, education, and finance will generate certain growth results.
During the conference, Mr. Vo Van Hoan highlighted the positive development of the friendly relations and cooperation between Vietnam and the UK over the last 50 years since the commencement of diplomatic ties. This forms the foundation for the advancement of bilateral trade and investment cooperation between the two nations.
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Mr. Vo Van Hoan, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of HCMC, speaks at the conference. |
HCMC aims to leverage the opportunities afforded by the Vietnam-UK Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA) and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), in which both nations are participants to advance economic collaboration in key sectors important to both HCMC and the UK, including finance, education, information technology, logistics, trade, and services.
The Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of HCMC emphasized that the city is giving top priority to accelerating digital transformation and green transition for sustainable development. The city focuses on developing high technology, supporting industries, microelectronics, semiconductor technology, finance and banking, information technology, and logistics. HCMC will consistently accompany, support, and create favorable conditions for investors from the UK to invest and do business in the city.
On this occasion, the leadership of HCMC witnessed the signing of memoranda of cooperation between Vietnamese organizations and businesses and those from the UK in various sectors, including trade promotion, information technology, education, and the food industry. Following the conference, there were product exhibitions featuring Vietnamese products, along with business-to-business (B&B) networking sessions where companies explored opportunities for collaboration.
