Hanoi (VNA) – Although the Red River Delta makes up the lion's share in the nation’s import-export structure and has huge potential to develop high-tech, support and logistics industries, the region needs breakthrough policies to capitalise on its strengths for further trade development, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Sinh Nhat Tan told a recent conference in Hanoi.
At the event, Tan highlighted the region, comprising 11 provinces and cities of Hanoi, Hai Phong, Vinh Phuc, Bac Ninh, Hung Yen, Hai Duong, Quang Ninh, Thai Binh, Nam Dinh, Ha Nam and Ninh Binh, has boasted robust development and dynamic economic shift, with industry-construction and services securing a majority of the economy and becoming the motive of the economic growth.
However, he pointed out that the regional economic development does not match its potential, advantages, positions and important role while there is a substantial development gap among localities, and low proportion of high-tech production sectors.
Besides, value chains and industry clusters have not formed in the region, and breakthroughs have not been recorded in the development of economic zones, industrial parks, and free trade areas, he underlined.
Against this backdrop, the official said the region should tap its resources to the fullest extent and effectively carry out breakthrough action plans, adding that measures to bolster science, technology and linkage chains in production as well as regional connectivity in trade promotion must be put in place.
Director of the Trade Promotion Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) Vu Ba Phu described arrangement and resources as the main challenges for regional trade promotion activities, elaborating that the region’s three trade promotion centres are operating under different management levels, leading to inadequacies in state management and poor implementation of promotion events.
He held that there is a shortage of exhibition and convention centres to organise regional- and international-level events to attract investment, promote trade and popularise the nation’s culture and tourism even in regional economic hubs like Hanoi, Hai Phong and Quang Ninh.
At the event, representatives from localities discussed challenges in regional connectivity, economic development and imports-exports, as well as ways to improve the efficiency of regional trade promotion activities.
Tan asked competent agencies of the MoIT to promote feasible initiatives for trade promotion work, assist the region in looking for suitable markets for its products amidst global headwinds that could have negative impacts on Vietnamese exports.
Localities were urged to work together to develop regional key products so as to identify rational supply chains, and join hands with relevant ministries and sectors to bolster exports to target markets and build a suitable linkage model.
Meanwhile, enterprises must keep updated with market information to grasp consumer taste and make adjustment to their products as well as the latest technology and e-commerce trends to improve goods’ competitiveness, while engaging in trade promotion events of localities and the MoIT./.
