National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue (L) and Vice President of the Austrian Chamber of Commerce Richard Schenz. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue attended the Vietnam –Austria Business Forum in Vienna, Austria, on September 6 (local time).
The event was co-hostedby the Austrian Chamber of Commerce, the Vietnamese Ministry of Planning and Investment,and the Vietnamese Embassy in Austria.
In his opening speech,Hue said Vietnam advocates drawing foreign investmentselectively with quality, efficiency, high technology and environmentprotection as key criteria, contributing to the country’s sustainablesocio-economic development.
He described Austria asone of Vietnam’s important export markets and now one of the five biggestimporters of Vietnamese goods in the European Union. Two-way trade hit 3.2 billion USDin 2020, he said.
The European country is investing in 37 projects worth nearly 150million USD in Vietnam, mostly in manufacturing, processing andscience-technology.
According to the top legislator, bothsides need to step up the exchange of information regarding each country’sinvestment policies, particularly in clean energy, infrastructure,telecommunications, digital economy and application of bio-technology.
At thesame time, he suggested upholding the role of the Vietnam – Austria JointCommittee on Economic and Trade Cooperation, as well as carrying out investmentand trade promotion programmes in various forms, thus making it easier forfirms to better understand each other and opportunities in each country.
The two countries’relevant authorities need to continue facilitating two-way trade and investmentflows on the mutually beneficial basis, via the increased exchange of businessdelegations to explore opportunities, he said.
Hue also called on Austrian enterprisesto urge the Austrian legislature and Government to complete procedures for theapproval of the EU - Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) at the earliest.
He affirmed thatVietnam commits to creating the best business environment towards meeting standardsof the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
The Vietnamese NA isworking on a comprehensive programme to perfect the legal system towards creatingthe best favourable conditions for investors at home and abroad, he said.
On the occasion, he proposed Austrian firms support the Austrian Government’s supplyof vaccines and medical equipment to Vietnam in the fight against COVID-19pandemic.
Austrian businesseshailed Vietnam as an important investment market in Southeast Asia and wishedto hold more business-to-business meetings to discuss more in detail.
Representatives fromthe Austrian Chamber of Commerce also pledged to help Vietnam attract qualityinvestors from the European nation./.
