Virtual seminar spotlights Binh Duong as gateway to Southeast Asia
A virtual seminar was held on April 22 to highlight the southern province of Binh Duong as a gateway to Southeast Asia, with the participation of Belgian delegates and firms.
Binh Duong is named among the 21 localities worldwide having outstanding smart city development strategies (Smart21) by the Intelligent Community Forum (ICF). The event aimed to define the province’s potential as an international destination for investment and business development.
In his opening speech, Andries Gryffroy, a member of the Belgian Senate and President of the Vietnam–Belgian Vietnamese Alliance, underlined that the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) has created favourable conditions for investment cooperation between Belgium and Vietnamese localities, including Binh Duong.
He spoke highly of the southern province’s potential and its cooperation projects with Belgium’s East Flanders province, as well as its prospects in foreign investment attraction.
Belgian Ambassador to Vietnam Paul Jansen emphasised that cooperation in economy, trade and investment is key to the two countries’ prosperity and benefits, citing fields suitable for bilateral cooperation such as seaports, farm produce, medicinal chemistry products, and information technology.
Belgium firms are currently channelling more than US$1 billion in 82 projects in Vietnam, ranking 22nd among the 140 countries and territories investing in the country.
Vietnamese Ambassador to Belgium Nguyen Van Thao said three potential fields that Vietnam and Belgium hold huge potential for cooperation include logistics, sustainable agriculture and innovation-digital economy. Binh Duong has advantages in forging partnerships with Belgian localities in innovation and digital economy, he added.
As of March 2022, Binh Duong ranked second across the country in terms of foreign investment attraction, only after the southern economic hub of Ho Chi Minh City. It is home to five Belgian projects with a combined registered capital of over US$39 million.
The province’s business climate, ongoing projects and especially orientations in the building of a smart city in the coming time were also promoted at the event.