German investments required to boost Vietnamese national development: PM

Vietnam’s dynamically growing economy is in need of investments worth billions of USD in infrastructure, renewable energy, transportation, seaport development and other areas, which provides a great opportunity for foreign investors, including Germans, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said.
Vietnam’s dynamically growing economy is in need of investments worthbillions of USD in infrastructure, renewable energy, transportation,seaport development and other areas, which provides a great opportunityfor foreign investors, including Germans, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dungsaid.

The PM addressed the 14th Asia-PacificConference of German Business (APK) which took place in Ho Chi MinhCity on November 20-21, the most important event of the Germanbusiness network, with the aim of promoting trade and exchange betweenregional partners, economists and politicians.

TheGovernment leader noted that in 25 years from 1986-2010, Vietnamrecorded an annual average growth rate of 7 percent. Despite the globaleconomic crisis in 2011-13, Vietnam is to post an average GDP growthof 5.8 percent with annual per capita income up to 2,000 USD this year.

The Vietnamese Government forecasts 6.2 percentgrowth for 2015, in line with the country’s stable socio-political andmicro-economic orientation, he said, adding that Vietnam was also on thepath to synchronising its market economy, stepping up economicrestructuring and transforming its growth model in order to meet thetarget of 6-7 percent GDP growth for 2016-20.

Currently, Vietnam is working with ASEAN members to build anEconomic Community by 2015 and set up a 600 million-strong single marketin ASEAN, he said.

Vietnam is alsoimplementing eight free trade agreements and has already signed andworked on six other deals, including with the European Union and theTrans-Pacific Partnership, he added.

Vietnamis undertaking maximum efforts to make its legal and business climatemore comprehensive, favourable and competitive, PM Nguyen Tan Dungstated.

Highly valuing the role that Germaninvestors play in Vietnam , he noted that Germany was currentlyVietnam’s largest trade partner in Europe, with two-way trade reachingnearly 8 billion USD, accounting for over 20 percent of total tradebetween Vietnam and the EU.

Many German playershave been operating in Vietnam for a long time, including Siemens,Daimler, Adidas, Braun and Allianz, he said. However, economiccooperation has yet to meet its full potential and match the soundrelations between Vietnam and Germany, he stressed.

PM Nguyen Tan Dung highlighted that choosing Vietnam as a venue forthe 14th APK reflected the German and Asian-Pacific businesscommunities’ confidence in Vietnam ’s future development.

PM Nguyen Tan Dung and German Chancellor Angela Merkel at their talksin Berlin on October 15, 2014, agreed on a number of importantcollaboration orientations, including concrete measures to foster theirbilateral partnership, focussing on trade and investment, developmentcooperation, science and technology, and culture and communications.

This agreement provides a solid foundation for the successfulaffiliation between businesses on both sides, especially in areas ofmutual strength and demand, including energy, green technology,manufacturing, support industries, and public transport, as well asfinance and banking, he stated.

Meanwhile, GermanVice Chancellor and Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy,Sigmar Gabriel, declared that his country paid special attention topromoting ties with regional countries in all fields, especially ineconomics, trade and investment.

He pledged thatGermany would work harder to deepen the partnership for the interestand progress of both Germany and regional partners.

Germany was keen to create favourable conditions forAsian-Pacific businesses to build partnerships in the country. He alsoexpressed his belief that after the conference, which attracted over 700German and regional enterprises, new partnership opportunities wouldopen up for both sides.

Entitled “UnderstandingTrends and Perspectives,” the two-day event included a dialogue withAsian ministers and discussions on a range of areas, including anoverall outlook for Asia; a vision for smart manufacturing, rawmaterials and resources; and the expectations of Asia’s emerging middleclasses.

This was the first time Vietnam hosted the event, which has been organised biannually in Asia since 1986.-VNA

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