Australia, Vietnam businesses promote post COVID cooperation
VOV.VN - The Australia-Vietnam Business Council (AVBC) hosted a gathering in Sydney (New South Wales – Australia) to celebrate its 25th founding anniversary.
Established in 1996 and joined by hundreds of Australian businesses, over the past years the AVBC has carried out numerous activities to increase connectivity, exchanges and investment opportunities for Australian and Vietnamese businesses. Besides its headquarters in Sydney, the council has opened its offices in Queensland and Western Australia and set up a network of international businesses that are ready to capitalize on skills, technology, and innovation capacity for stronger business ties between the two countries.
The council serves as an important bridge to help eliminate cultural differences and promote understanding between the two countries’ business communities, thereby facilitating their business and trade links, said Laurence Strano AVBC President and founder.
In the coming years, he stated the AVBC will focus on promoting cooperation between businesses of the two countries in areas such as digital technology, emerging technology, digital transformation, education - training, business development, public relations and media, sports, health care, housing and commercial project development.
Addressing the ceremony, Nguyen Phu Hoa, Vietnamese Deputy Consul General in Sydney and Head of the Vietnam Trade Office in Australia, noted economic ties between Vietnam and Australia have developed significantly over the years.
Despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, two-way trade value hit over AUD10 billion (roughly US$8 billion) in 2020, increasing nearly 4% over the previous year, said Hoa.
In particular, he went on to say, the first three months of this year saw the bilateral trade value reach AUD3.4 billion, up 33.7% over the same period in 2020.
According to Hoa, Vietnam has signed 17 free trade agreements (FTAs) and joined many economic and trade cooperation frameworks with many countries and leading economic hubs in the world.
Investing in Vietnam, he said Australian businesses not only have the chance to access a market of nearly 100 million consumers, but also export their products to many parts of the world.
