Vietnam's bright spot in Switzerland's vision
Sep 11, 2023
Hanoi [Vietnam], September 11: Swiss businesses and diplomatic and economic officials see Vietnam's potential and promising investment environment.
These assessments were made at the Vietnam - Switzerland cooperation
This is a great effort of the Vietnamese Embassy in Switzerland
The event attracted about 150 attendees including representatives of ministries, economic experts, financial investment funds and businesses of the two countries. In particular, the discussion had the participation and speech of Chairman of Hanoi People's Committee Tran SyThanh on a business trip to Switzerland. Swiss Ambassador to Vietnam Thomas Gass, Director of the European-American Market Department of the Ministry of Industry and Trade Ta Hoang Linh, representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Science and Technology also spoke online from Hanoi. Representatives of a number of Vietnamese financial investment and technology businesses such as SSI Securities, Innolab Asia, and Finhay also participated in the discussion remotely.
Upgrade economic relations
Speaking at the opening of the discussion, Vietnamese Ambassador to Switzerland PhungThe Long emphasized that after more than 50 years of establishing diplomatic relations, senior leaders of the two countries both wish and agreed to soon bring the cooperative relationship to fruition. bilateral relations to a new level. "In February 2023, the Swiss Federal Government issued the Southeast Asia Strategy for the period 2023-2026, identifying Vietnam as the most dynamic economy in Southeast Asia and an increasingly important partner. of Switzerland.
On Vietnam's side, the Government always values ​​friendship and cooperation with Switzerland, considering Switzerland one of Vietnam's important partners in Europe. The two countries are actively negotiating to soon sign a free trade agreement (FTA) between Vietnam and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) of which Switzerland is a member," Ambassador PhungThe Long speak.
Chairman of Hanoi People's Committee Tran SyThanh in his speech said that to date, Swiss businesses have invested 109 million USD in Hanoi capital in the fields of technology, manufacturing, processing industry and education. sex. He also expressed his desire to promote cooperation with Switzerland in research and development (R&D), high-tech, green and sustainable economic sectors. "In the context that Vietnam is aiming to become a developed, high-income country by 2045, with strengths in technology, techniques, and experience of Swiss businesses, there is room for economic cooperation between The two countries are especially large, especially in Hanoi - one of the two largest economic centers of Vietnam," Mr. Thanh said.
From Hanoi, Swiss Ambassador Thomas Gass shared his impressions of Vietnam's dynamism and potential for economic growth and political cooperation in the region and the world. He also said that within 8 months since arriving in Hanoi, he visited and witnessed the success of Swiss businesses in Vietnam. Many large Swiss enterprises such as Sika, ABB, Nestle have and are about to celebrate their 30th anniversary of operations in Vietnam.
"If you want to see Switzerland's presence in Vietnam, don't look for signs, but go to manufacturing factories, laboratories, agricultural and food processing plants, construction projects, and industrial parks. Vietnam's flood management, climate change resilience... process. You will see Swiss technology, techniques, and management processes there," he said. Ambassador Gass also suggested that in the coming time the two countries should promote cooperation in the fields of R&D, higher education as well as human resource training in the private economic sector, and co-implement innovation projects. created in Vietnam.
Meanwhile, Ambassador Markus Schlagenhof, Director of the World Trade Department of the Ministry of Economy and member of the trade agreement negotiation team of the Swiss Federal Government, recognized Vietnam as the second largest trading partner. 2 of Switzerland in Southeast Asia. Over 100 Swiss companies from multinational to small and medium sized in fields from construction, machinery manufacturing, precision tools, food processing, to medical technology, information technology , transportation and logistics... are operating in Vietnam with a total workforce of 20,000 people.
"The trend of increasing bilateral trade and investment from Switzerland into Vietnam confirms that Vietnam is a promising market for Switzerland. In addition, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) also launched many projects. optimistic reports about Vietnam such as average economic growth of 6.9% in the coming years, per capita income increasing from the current level of about 4,000 USD to 7,000 USD in 2028", Ambassador Schlagenhof said. full of trust.
Regarding the FTA issue between EFTA and Vietnam, Ambassador Schlagenhof said: "In the past few weeks, many high-level meetings have taken place, and I believe that the two sides have clearly understood each other's flexibility and know what to do. What can we do to receive support from both sides? At least, we have a clear path ahead." Mr. Schlagenhof also said that a few days before he spoke at the discussion, the Swiss Parliament
FTA negotiations between Vietnam and EFTA started in 2012 and stopped in 2018 after 16 rounds of negotiations. Since then, this issue has been strongly mentioned in every meeting between the two countries, but not much has changed until recently. "I have never been as optimistic as today," Ambassador Schlagenhof affirmed and added that in October there will be expert-level meetings, and the next round of negotiations will be re-established so that by the end of this year all The basic elements of the agreement are clear. "I believe we will get there. The new trade agreement will strengthen legal guarantees for Swiss investors, promoting direct investment in Vietnam," he said.
While waiting for the new agreement, Ms. Angela Di Rosa, Senior Advisor on the Southeast Asian market of the Swiss Global Enterprise Development Agency (S-GE) under the Federal Directorate for Economic Affairs, encouraged businesses to Swiss businesses boldly come to Vietnam to explore the market and business conditions, seek local partners and promote trade and investment activities if deemed appropriate.
Investment opportunities
During the discussion session on investment opportunities in Vietnam, Dr. Laurent Sigismondi, Head of the CEO Office and member of the executive board of the Swiss trading and service business group DKSH, evaluated Vietnam as one of important investment destinations in Southeast Asia. Returning to operations in Vietnam since 1991, DKSH sees Vietnam as a place where the group is very successful and is also bringing attractive opportunities to other investors.
Meanwhile, Ms. XinyueHou, manager of two investment funds in Asia and Vietnam of Bellecapital based in Zurich, said that with impressive growth and increasingly developed infrastructure, Vietnam is attracting attention. interest of international investors. Mr. Thomas Erdmann, Head of Fund Management and Sustainable Investment Solutions at Credit Suisse Bank, sees that Vietnam has great potential for developing sustainable investment projects. Therefore, Vietnam's policy to support sustainable development will attract the attention of investors, he suggested.
On the Vietnamese side, Mr. Pham Luu Hung, Chief Economist of SSI Securities Company, updated the situation of the Vietnamese stock market and the fields and industries that foreign capital is pouring into. Meanwhile, Deputy Director of the Department of Economic Integration of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dang KhanhLinh, affirmed that in the field of foreign investment cooperation, the Vietnamese Government prioritizes attracting investment in the fields of advanced technology and innovation. innovation and research and development, thereby promoting the digital economy and circular economy for sustainable development.
Source: ThanhNien Newspaper
