Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai (second from left) addresses the ‘A Digital ASEAN for All’ sessions. (Photo: VNA) At the ‘A Digital ASEAN for All’ sessions and dialogue between leaders regarding the building of self-reliant economies for sustainable development under the chair of WEF President Borge Brende, Khai shared Vietnam’s viewpoints and development orientations, including sustainable development on the foundation of science-technology, innovation and digital transformation.
Vietnam welcomes and stands ready to create optimal conditions for foreign organisations and firms to join hands with the Vietnamese Government and businesses to promote digital economic development through human resources training, technology transfer, research-development and innovation.
He underlined that digital transformation in combination with sustainable development must be carried out concertedly at three levels.
International cooperation must be bolstered at the global level so as to support developing nations to narrow the digital gap and ensure that no one is left behind. Global and multilateral mechanisms and frameworks are needed to manage emerging issues related to the digital economy.
A digital ecosystem must be built at the national level, including digital institutions, infrastructure, management, and personnel. The public-private partnership needs to be strengthened to maximise stakeholders’ engagement.
Businesses have to take advantage of digital technology and data so as to improve productivity and competitiveness, use energy efficiently, and develop green products, thereby creating momentum for sustainable development.
Deputy PM Khai had a meeting with LithuanianPresident Gitanas Nauseda, during which the two sides affirmed that theytreasure the traditional friendship between Vietnam and Lithuania. As the twocountries celebrate the 30th anniversary of their diplomaticrelationship this year, Khai suggested that the two sides make best use ofbilateral cooperative mechanisms and coordinate to hold trade promotion eventsto bolster their economic ties.
He thanked Lithuania for its active support of the signing of the Vietnam-EUFree Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and for being among one of the first countries toratify the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA). He alsoappreciated the mutual support of the two countries for each other’s candidacyto UN agencies and organisations.
For his part, President Nauseda asked Vietnamto facilitate Lithuanian enterprises’ access to the Vietnamese market, andthrough it to the Southeast Asian region.
Deputy PM Khai took the occasion to convey an invitation to visit Vietnam from PresidentNguyen Xuan Phuc to the Lithuanian President.
Meeting with Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin, the head of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs,Education and Research (EAER) of Switzerland, Deputy PM Khai suggestedthat the two countries intensify measures to restore their economic ties,especially in fields where Switzerland has strength and Vietnam has demand,such as finance-banking, insurance, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, farmproduce processing and tourism.
Khai thanked Switzerland for providing ODA for Vietnam and asked the Swissgovernment to continue creating favourable conditions for the Vietnamesecommunity in the country to settle down and integrate into the host society,thus playing a bridging role in the relations between the two countries.
Parmelin said he hopes the two countries willcontinue to push ahead with negotiations on a free trade agreement between theEFTA and Vietnam. He affirmed that Switzerland will soon hold discussion withVietnam for the early conclusionof the FTA , thus promoting sustainable development of bilateral trade ties.
In another meeting, Deputy PM Khai and Peruvian Foreign MinisterCésar Rogrigo Landa noted their joy at the development of bilateral tiesbetween the two countries, particularly in economics-trade-investment. Theynoted that Vietnam’s Bitel project in Peru and Peru’s investment projects inbeverage and tourism in Vietnam are operating effectively.
The two sides agreed to promote the exchange of delegations at all levels, andwork to perfect the legal framework to facilitate stable and sustainable developmentof bilateral ties.
While receiving OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann, the VietnameseDeputy PM proposed that OECD continue assisting Vietnam in implementing itsprogramme for socio-economic recovery, especially in areas where OECD hasstrength such as economic restructuring, growth model renewal, innovation,stock market management, State-owned enterprise governance and anti-corruption.
Cormann said Vietnam is among a few countries withgood recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic, and affirmed that the country isamong the most important partners of the OECD in Southeast Asia. He pledgedthat the organization will work closely with Vietnam to help the countryrealise its development goals.
Khai invited the OECD Secretary-General tovisit Vietnam and attend a regional economic forum that Vietnam will host inthe framework of the Southeast Asia Programme in September this year.
At another meeting with Minister-President of Flanders Jan Jambon, Deputy PMKhai noted the development trend of Vietnam-Belgium ties, and that Flanders isan important development partner of the Mekong River Commission.
The Vietnamese Government official expressed his hope that thetwo sides will continue to join hands for the early approval of the EVIPA byBelgian agencies. He urged Belgium and the EU to promote investment in theMekong River region and the Mekong Delta in such fields as smart agriculture,climate change adaptive irrigation, green infrastructure and human resources training.
The Minister-President of Flanders pledged to work for the early ratificationof the EVIPA and promote the region’s cooperation with Vietnam in fields of theregion’s strength, for example agriculture, maritime trade, education,science-technology, water resources management, and climate changeadaptation./.
VNA
