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| Chairman of the National Assembly Vuong Dinh Hue (center) has a working session with a delegation of the EU-ASEAN Business Council (EU-ABC) and the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (EuroCham) in Hanoi on February 14. (Photo: VNA) |
Managing Director & Regional Head Asia/Pacific at Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg, Jens Ruebbert, and European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (EuroCham) Chairman Alain Cany, co-heads of the delegation, affirmed that European businesses are interested in the Vietnamese market and consider Vietnam a leading country and a pioneer in Asia-Pacific, especially Southeast Asia.
Vietnam holds great potential for development, with a growth rate of over 8 percent last year, they said, calling the country a destination of investment and trade for nations worldwide.
Cany expressed his hope to assist Vietnam in realizing its net zero emission target by 2050 in terms of policy and law making, technology transfer and access to capital.
Regarding green transition and the net zero emission target, representatives from the EU firms said they want to study Vietnam’s strategy and legal framework, and implement offshore wind power and renewable energy projects in the country.
They were also interested in Vietnam’s incentives towards access to new medicines and modern medical services.
After studying Vietnam’s support plan for digital transformation, and relevant investment activities, the businesses hoped to invest human resources in the field. They also affirmed their support for ASEAN’s economic integration.
The NA Chairman affirmed that Vietnam attaches great importance to and wishes to promote relations with the EU- a leading important partner in Vietnam's foreign policy.
The commemorative summit celebrating the 45th founding anniversary of ASEAN-EU relations was successfully organized in Brussels, Belgium, last December 2022, he said.
Hue said that he hoped the ASEAN-EU Business Council would continue creating a reliable bridge and actively supporting EU businesses and investors to invest in ASEAN in general and the Vietnamese market in particular.
He affirmed that the National Assembly of Vietnam, in all its decisions including those in the legislation, supreme supervision, and national issues, are all for the sake of rapid and sustainable development, promoting the increasingly proactive and effective integration of Vietnam into the region and the world.
The NA always puts people and businesses, both domestic and foreign enterprises, at the center of every decision, he said.
Emphasizing that foreign investors’ successes are Vietnam's successes, Hue said that Vietnam has shifted its focus from attracting FDI to a strategy of cooperation and partnership in foreign investment.
“Vietnam will continue to implement a consistent policy to improve and enhance the quality of the business and investment environment, and is determined to improve its competitiveness, productivity, and efficiency of its economy,” Hue said.
Appreciating the strong development in trade relations between Vietnam and the EU over the past time, despite the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, and uncertainties of the world's complicated situation, Hue said that maintaining supply chains, strengthening cooperation with existing markets and expanding new markets are the right choices of countries.
The NA Chairman also shared with EU investors about Vietnam's socio-economic development achievements in 2022, with important contributions of the National Assembly.
According to the top legislator, the NA's Resolution No. 30/2021/QH15 grants the NA Standing Committee, the Government, the Prime Minister, and the provincial People's Council specific powers to perform the dual task of controlling the pandemic, and boosting socio-economic recovery and development.
The NA's Resolution No. 43/2022/QH15 on fiscal and monetary policies permitted the allocation of funding of up to VND350 trillion to support the implementation of the socio-economic recovery and development program.
"Thanks to all-round efforts, Vietnam's economy has not lost its growth momentum. It is expected to achieve the targets set out for this term and the development goals until 2030 with a vision to 2045 set by the Communist Party of Vietnam at the 13th National Congress," the NA Chairman said.
For digital transformation and digital economy, Hue stressed that the digital economy is expected to make up about 20 percent of the country's GDP by 2025 and 30 percent by 2030, saying the digital economy now has a scale of more than US$50 billion and a growth rate of between 16-18 percent.
The leader used this occasion to call on European investors to actively engage in the process, contributing to building a digital ecosystem for digital transformation in Vietnam.
Regarding just energy transition, Hue said Vietnam hopes to cooperate with EU firms in mobilizing green finance and ensuring interest-cost balance during the transition process.
He suggested EU-ASEAN Business Council (EU-ABC) and EuroCham encourage remaining countries in the EU to soon ratify the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) and remove the “yellow card” imposed on Vietnam’s seafood, thus benefiting businesses, farmers and consumers of the two sides.
