Legislature leader supports Vietnam-Finland business connectivity
VOV.VN - National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue has called on Vietnamese and Finnish businesses to increase their connectivity in order to fully tap into their potential and promote mutually beneficial trade & economic cooperation.
Addressing a joint business roundtable in Helsinki on September 11, Hue said both Vietnamese have Finnish businesses have great potential for ramping up their cooperation.
According to the chief legislator, Vietnam is currently the third largest economy in Southeast Asia and one of the 40 largest economies in the world. It aims to achieve an average economic growth rate of 6.5-7% annually by 2025 and become a high middle-income country by 2030.
The country has signed 17 bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements (FTAs), including many new-generation FTAs such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) between ASEAN + 5 partners.
To meet its development requirements in the coming years, Hue said Vietnam need to attract industries and fields such as high technology, smart city management, renewable energy, education, health care, waste and water treatment, green growth, circular economy, climate change adaptation and start-up innovation which are all Finland’s strengths.
“Finland is a high technology based economy that has the most complete innovative start-up ecosystem in the world. We are looking forward to learning and sharing with Finland in this field, not only to increase import and export turnover but also want more Finnish investors to come to Vietnam and vice versa,” said the NA Chairman.
He stressed that the Vietnamese delegation’s visit is not only to promote the implementation of the FTAs, but also to seek support for early ratification of the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA).
“We would like to get access to science and technology and source technology of advanced countries. But if Europe acts late, other investors will come in very soon to take advantage of the CPTPP and RCEP because the two FTAs do not separate investment from trade like the EVIPA,” Hue explained.
He said during the visit he had met the Finnish President, Prime Minister and Parliament Speaker who all pledged to support early ratification of the EVIPA to protect the rights and interests of investors on both sides.
At the event, Finnish businesses introduced their potential strengths and raised questions relating to cooperation in digital transformation and agricultural infrastructure development.
Investment Minister Nguyen Chi Dung said Vietnam has developed a strategy to support digital transformation of businesses for 2025-2030. He expressed hope that Finnish businesses, with their practical know-how in this field, would cooperate with Vietnamese businesses to provide products and technology solutions for them.
Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister Le Minh Hoan said Vietnam prioritizes high-tech agricultural projects and it expects to attract Finnish investment in forest product processing, ecosystem protection and logistics infrastructure development.
