Top leader’s visit gives extra leverage to Vietnam – Ireland trade links

Vietnam and Ireland have recorded various achievements in their co-operation and friendship since they first established their diplomatic ties 28 years ago. Trade collaboration has been a key pillar in the bilateral ties on the basis of the effective implementation of the EU – Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), Ireland represents Vietnam's sixth largest trading partner in the EU, with last year’s two-way trade revenue nearing US$3.5 billion. As of the end of July, Ireland had registered US$60.82 million in 41 projects across Vietnam, duly ranking 55th out of 146 countries and territories investing in the Southeast Asian country. Particularly, after the EVFTA took effect in 2020, Vietnamese exports to the European nation soared by 45.9% on-year to US$502 million in 2022.

According to experts, Ireland boasts sound legal frameworks and incentives for the development of high-tech industry, innovation, and startups, among other factors, making it an attractive destination for global tech giants. The Vietnamese side has maintained a large trade deficit with Ireland for years, with computers, electronic products and components, including semiconductor chips, accounting for 90% of the country’s total import from the market for domestic production and assembly.

Although the two countries have huge co-operation potential, their collaboration in the domains of trade, investment, and science-technology, as well as other sectors of their strengths, remains modest and has not been on a par with their political relations, as well as potential and advantages. They therefore suggested that the two nations intensify the exchange of delegations at all levels and information sharing in a bid to propel bilateral ties forward.

In the framework of a recent visit to Vietnam by a trade delegation of the Irish Government, Martin Heydon, Minister of State at the Irish Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, said Irish agricultural products and food have reached out to various markets, meaning that they are keen to provide its high-quality goods for Vietnam.

Over recent years, the European state has focused on developing co-operation development programmes with the nation, including recent support activities for Vietnam’s agriculture and food sectors, helping Vietnamese goods to access new markets.

Experts said that Ireland will continue promoting its investment in the Vietnamese market, particularly in the areas of the country’s strengths and the nation’s potential, such as green technology, renewable energy, research and development, innovation, agriculture, high technology, and FDI attraction.

Besides, Vietnam will put into place the OECD-led global minimum tax and focus on key collaboration areas at the Vietnam National Innovation Centre.

Specialists stated that the two nations should fully capitalize on their existing bilateral and multilateral collaboration frameworks, as well as working together to handle several issues, including Ireland’s approval of the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA), as well as calling for the EU to remove the European Commission (EC)’s yellow card against Vietnamese seafood products.

A representative of the MoIT said that both sides should step up support for their business communities, helping them seek co-operation, investment, and business opportunities in each other’s market, while also tapping into the opportunities from the EVFTA to the fullest extent amidst the ongoing post-pandemic economic recovery.

Particularly, the Irish side should incentivize its enterprises, comprising of global firms headquartered in the nation, to shift and expand investment in the Vietnamese market and support the country to organise trade promotion programmes at Irish supermarket chains. This should be done while working to bring Vietnamese goods to Irish distribution chains, thus bridging the trade deficit between the two countries.

The representative also suggested both sides should focus on ramping up co-operation in such areas as manufacturing industry and automation, electronic and digital industries, the application of biotechnology into industry, energy, sustainable consumption, innovation, and high-quality human resources development.