The event was attended by Deputy Minister of Finance Nguyen Duc Chi, Vietnamese Ambassador to Austria Vu Le Thai Hoang, and Chairwoman of the State Securities Commission Vu Thi Chan Phuong, along with leaders of units under the Ministry of Finance, representatives of the Vietnam Exchange, and representatives of organizations and businesses.
Representing Austria were Barbara Eibinger-Miedl, Permanent State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Finance of Austria; Philipp Agathonos, Austrian Ambassador to Vietnam; and representatives of the Austrian Financial Market Authority (FMA), the Federal Ministry for Economy, Energy and Tourism, as well as banks, investment funds and businesses.
Deputy Minister of Finance Nguyen Duc Chi said FTSE Russell has announced the reclassification of Vietnam’s stock market from frontier market to secondary emerging market status. From September 21, 2026, Vietnamese stocks will be included in FTSE Russell’s global equity indices.
Vietnam will continue implementing reforms to meet higher standards, enhance transparency and market security, and improve accessibility for international investors.
In terms of bilateral economic ties, Vietnam and Austria have favorable conditions for deepening cooperation. Driven in part by the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), bilateral trade has reached approximately US$2.5-2.7 billion.
Vietnam is Austria’s largest trading partner in ASEAN. Austria currently has 49 valid investment projects in Vietnam, with total registered capital of approximately US$150 million, while around 60 Austrian businesses have representative offices or branches in the country.
A EUR150 million framework agreement on financial cooperation, signed by the two countries’ finance ministries in June 2025, will continue to provide a foundation for implementing cooperation programs and projects in the coming period.
Deputy Minister Nguyen Duc Chi proposed that the two sides focus on three areas of cooperation, including promoting the full ratification of the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) to establish a stable, long-term legal framework; encouraging Austrian financial institutions, banks, investment funds and fintech companies to enter Vietnam’s financial market, including in the capacity of strategic investors; and expanding investment in complementary areas of strength, such as high technology, artificial intelligence, clean and renewable energy, transport infrastructure, smart cities, green finance, the carbon credit market and the circular economy.
Permanent State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Finance of Austria, Barbara Eibinger-Miedl, spoke highly of the positive developments in Vietnam-Austria relations.
The Austrian finance official said that amid significant changes in the global economy, the two countries still have considerable potential to strengthen cooperation in finance, investment, innovation and the green transition.
She expressed her hope that agencies and businesses from both sides would continue their dialogue, share experience and develop more concrete cooperation projects.
