Prague (VNA) – A businessesconference promoting partnerships between Vietnamese and Czech companies tookplace in Prague on October 11.
At the conference, Vietnamese Ambassador tothe Czech Republic Ho Minh Tuan said the two countries’ traditional diplomaticrelations lay a firm foundation for their increased cooperation, particularlyin economy and trade.
Bilateral trade rose from 775 million USD in2015 to 912.5 million USD in 2016 and 1.02 billion USD in 2017. The figure isexpected to reach 1.2 billion USD this year.
The diplomat also noted that economic andcommercial cooperation between the sides is short of their potential and thereis a significant trade imbalance.
In the first seven months of 2018, bilateraltrade hit 681 million USD, of which Czech export value to Vietnam was close to94 million USD, much below the figure for Vietnamese exports to thecountry.
As of April 2018, the Czech Republic had 36projects worth 110 million USD in Vietnam, while Vietnam invested about 5million USD in four projects in the European nation.
Tuan said the conference is an opportunityfor the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Czech Federation ofIndustry & Transport to exchange market information and put forth measuresto step up bilateral trade and investment.
Agreeing with Tuan, Stanislav Kazecky, VicePresident of the Czech federation, highlighted energy, construction andmechanical engineering as potential sectors for collaboration between the twocountries.
He said Czech firms want to recruit skilledVietnamese workers, adding that his federation has advised the Czech governmentto issue a favourable visa policy for Vietnamese labourers.
He said during their trade and investmenttransactions, Vietnamese and Czech enterprises will receive support from majorCzech banks, including the Czech Export Bank, to access preferential loans andflexible mechanisms.-VNA