Vietnamese and Thai firms to enhance connectivity for sustainable development
VOV.VN - A Vietnam - Thailand business forum held in Bangkok on June 23 is expected to create greater opportunities for firms from both countries to establish partnerships and promote bilateral trade ties, according to insiders from both sides.
Addressing the event, Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai highlighted the significance of the function in helping businesses to co-operate in both the public and private sectors for the sake of sustainable development and prosperity of the ASEAN region, the Mekong sub-region, as well as the world as a whole.
He emphasised that both Thailand and Vietnam are each other’s important trading partners and that two-way trade between the two countries has recorded strong growth over recent times despite the negative impact of the COVID-19, with trade revenue estimated to reach US$25 billion by 2025.
The Thai official proposed a strategy to strengthen the connectivity of supply chains, economic foundations, and sustainable growth in a bid to facilitate business operations of both countries.
He also underscored the importance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in promoting economic development, saying a number of Vietnamese localities have established a relationship with their Thai provinces over recent times, especially in the northeast region of Thailand.
The joint relationship will help further enhance economic connectivity between the two sides moving forward, he said.
Deputy PM Pramudwinai also called on both countries to connect sustainable development strategies, including Thailand's Bio-Circular-Green Economic Model (BCG) and Vietnam's green development strategy, as a means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, in an attempt to meet their climate change commitments.
In response, Vietnamese Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan emphasised that Thailand ranks ninth out of 139 countries and territories and second in the ASEAN region in terms of injecting money into the Vietnamese market, with over 650 projects capitalised at more than US$13.1 billion.
Furthermore, the neighbouring country is also Vietnam's largest trading partner in ASEAN, with two-way trade turnover reaching US$18.8 billion last year, whilst two-way trade is estimated to reach US$25 billion by 2025.
The Vietnamese VP pointed out that despite numerous difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Vietnamese GDP recorded growth of 2.58% in the first quarter of the year, while FDI attraction increased by 9.2%
She revealed that the country’s investment and trade strategy moving forward to 2030 is to prioritise projects which make use of advanced and hi-tech technology, modern management, and stable governance, factors which are expected to help enhance connectivity in the global production and supply chains.
She concluded by affirming that Vietnam continues to place great importance on further promoting the enhanced strategic partnership with Thailand, while simultaneously creating favourable conditions for Thai enterprises to conduct business in Vietnam in the future.
VP Xuan and Thai Deputy PM Pramudwinai witness the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Vietnamese and Thai businesses.
