Abu Dhabi (VNA) – Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on October 28 morning said he hopes the United Arab Emirate (UAE), with its experience in developing the Dubai and Abu Dhabi financial centres, will support Vietnam in forming a suitable policy framework and model.
Receiving UAE Minister of Investment Mohamed bin Hassan Alsuwaidi as part of his official visit to the Middle East country, Chinh also asked the UAE to join in the process of building and investing and developing financial centres in Vietnam, adding that Vietnam aims to build international financial centres in Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang and build free trade zones in major cities.
The PM congratulated the UAE on its socio-economic development achievements, especially in the fields of renewable energy, green transformation, science and technology, innovation, and financial centres, and emphasised that Vietnam attaches importance to investment cooperation with the Middle East region, in which the UAE is one of the top focuses.
However, he noted that the investment ties between Vietnam and the UAE are not commensurate with their potential. The UAE now has 38 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects in Vietnam, with a total registered investment capital of 74.1 million USD, ranking 52nd out of 144 countries and territories investing in Vietnam. Meanwhile, Vietnam has five investment projects in the UAE with a total registered capital of 1.8 million USD.
PM Chinh emphasised that Vietnam and the UAE have ample potential for investment cooperation. He informed that during his visit to the UAE this time, the two sides will upgrade relations and sign the Vietnam - UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), and then build a plan to connect the two economies to early achieve the goal of bringing two-way trade to 10 billion USD.
He informed the guest that Vietnam now prioritizes investment projects in the fields of high technology, electronics, semiconductor chips, innovation, artificial intelligence, cloud computing and Internet of Things, which are in line with the strengths of the UAE as well as the world trend.
He called on the UAE Ministry of Investment to share experiences in attracting foreign investment; and consider, select and connect partners to participate in strong and comprehensive investment cooperation with Vietnam, including cooperation with the National Innovation Centre (NIC) of Vietnam.
The PM said Vietnam is focusing on perfecting its institutions, training high-quality human resources and developing strategic infrastructure, including seaport systems, high-speed railways, and airports, towards becoming an international transit point, and called on UAE investment funds to support Vietnam in accessing international financial and investment sources, especially green financial sources, to implement sustainable development goals towards green growth.
For his part, the UAE Minister of Investment said that Vietnam with a population of 100 million and the UAE with a population of 10 million, are both countries with major roles and positions in the region.
He held that as the two countries are developing rapidly based on science, technology, innovation, strongly attracting foreign investment, they can cooperate and complement each other in many areas.
The UAE is ready to share experiences and support Vietnam in building financial centres in Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang city, the minister said, promising to research and direct UAE corporations to invest in strategic projects in Vietnam, and introduce potential UAE partners to Vietnamese businessmen and investors to cooperate, expand operations and effectively implement investment projects in the UAE./.
