At the working session (Photo: VNA) Can Tho (VNA) – Vice Chairman of the Can Tho municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Thuc Hien held a working session with Swedish Ambassador to Vietnam Ann Måwe in the Mekong Delta city on April 24 to discuss enhancing bilateral cooperation in trade, investment and education-training.
Speaking at the event, Hien said last year, Can Tho’s exports to Sweden hit 1.43 million USD, mostly rice, aquatic products, apparel, farm produce and processed agricultural products. In the first half of this year, the figure hit 410,000 USD.
Can Tho wishes to tap opportunities from the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) to propel bilateral trade ties, particularly in fields of strength such as rice, fruits and aquatic products, he said.
He expressed his expectation that following the visit, Swedish partners will develop cooperation and investment with Can Tho city in fields of shared interest, especially in climate change response and green growth.
As a agriculture-strong area, Can Tho hopes for Sweden’s support in the application of digital transformation and advanced technology to achieve efficient agricultural production, popularise the city's potential, advantages, and investment attraction policies to the Business Sweden while providing information on Sweden's strengths, markets, and trade policies for Can Tho.
Hien also proposed Ambassador Måwe help with online or direct supply-demand connections between Swedish importers and Can Tho's producers and exporters of rice, seafood, farm produce and processed food.
In education-training, Can Tho hopes that Sweden will increase scholarships for local excellent students in the city, full scholarships for lecturers at universities and colleges to improve their knowledge and skills in the country.
Måwe, for her part, congratulated Can Tho on ranking 19th in the Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI). She said Sweden wants to learn about business environment in the Mekong Delta and Can Tho city in particular.
According to her, they are interested in the Mekong Delta region and want to learn about projects on collecting wastes and pollutants that cause pollution and affect waterway traffic, in order to reduce pollution and create better waterway transportation conditions for the region.
The Swedish Embassy will continue working with Swedish businesses to tackle difficulties when investing in Can Tho, as well as share information to help the Vietnamese firms facilitate exports to Sweden, she said./.
