Vietnam and Hungary hold great cooperation potential: joint business forum
VOV.VN - Both Vietnam and Hungary have great potential to promote business and investment cooperation as they are highly complementary economies, heard a joint business forum in Budapest on January 19 afternoon.
The Vietnam –Hungary Business Forum was attended by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, leaders of ministries and representatives of leading businesses of the two countries.
At the forum, participants were introduced to the potential, investment and business environments and opportunities in both Vietnam and Hungary. Businesses asked questions relating to each country’s economic development strategy, priority areas, preferential policies, infrastructure, and human resources.
Accordingly, Vietnam-Hungary relations have recorded positive achievements over the past more than seven decades, especially after the two countries upgraded their ties to a comprehensive partnership in 2018. Currently, Hungary is Vietnam’s only comprehensive partner in Central-Eastern Europe. The two economies complement each other and develop together.
Hungary is one of the leading countries in electronics, pharmaceuticals, health care, high-tech agriculture, and auto component manufacturing. Meanwhile, Vietnam is an attractive investment destination with great potential for developing those fields. It has been identified as an important link in Hungary’s Look East policy.
Since the two countries established the Comprehensive Partnership framework, bilateral economic-investment-trade cooperation has always been promoted, yielding many positive results. Hungary now ranks 52nd out of 144 foreign investors in Vietnam, with 21 investment projects valued at more than US$72 million. Vietnam has invested in two projects in Hungary with a total investment capital of US$5.8 million. Two-way trade between the two countries hit over US$1.2 billion last year, 1.63 times more than in 2019.
Speaking at the forum, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh noted the good relationship over the past more than seven decades serves as a firm foundation for bilateral economic, trade and investment cooperation to prosper. During his visit, the two sides agreed on orientations and measures to promote multifaceted cooperation, in which economic, investment and trade cooperation is an important pillar. The two sides showed their strong resolve to increase bilateral trade turnover and encourage deeper, broader and stronger investment.
He briefed participants on Vietnam’s reform achievements in nearly four decades, saying Vietnam has transformed from an impoverished, war-torn country into one of the world’s top 40 economies by GDP, with the average income per capita rising from US$160 to nearly US$4,300 in 2023. It is among the top 20 economies in terms of trade and foreign direct investment attraction. To date, Vietnam has signed 16 free trade agreements with more than 60 countries.
Vietnam is focusing on three strategic breakthroughs, namely institution improvement, infrastructure development, and human resources training, aiming to reduce input costs, improve corporate competitiveness and streamline compliance costs for sustainable and effective operations.
In addition to renewing traditional growth drivers, such as export, consumption, and investment, the country is supplementing new growth drivers of digital economy, green economy, circular economy, and sharing economy. It always protects the legitimate rights and interests of businesses, encourages and creates favourable conditions for their operations in the spirit of interest harmonising and risk sharing.
The PM called on Hungarian businesses to explore opportunities and expand cooperation with Vietnam, for the benefit of each business, for the development of each country, for the prosperity of Vietnam-Hungary relations, and for peace, cooperation and development in the region and the wider world.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban for his part said Hungary is a diverse, developed economy with exports making up about 80% of the country’s GDP. The EU member state has acquired a wealth of experience in scientific and technological developments. These are advantages for businesses, including those from Vietnam, to boost mutually beneficial cooperation.
He affirmed that Hungary supports the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA), and it would continue to lobby other EU member states to swiftly ratify the EVIPA, especially when it assumes the role of the EU President in the second half of 2024.
The Hungarian PM expressed his desire to promote bilateral trade in a more balanced direction, while asking the Vietnamese side to encourage leading businesses to invest in Hungary.
“Vietnam is growing very fast and we look forward to Vietnam’s investment. We will also promote investment in Vietnam,” said Orban, affirming that similar to Vietnam, Hungary will continue to maintain its peaceful and stable environment for development and cooperation.
He said he expects to see more fruitful results in bilateral cooperation during his visit to Vietnam in 2025 that also marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries.
