Vietnamese and Austrian businesspeople met in a forum in Hanoi on March 13 to look for ways leading in boosting the two countries’ economic and trade ties.

The forum was jointly held by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and Austria ’s Carinthia Economic Chamber (CEC).

Addressing the event, VCCI Deputy Chairman Doan Duy Khuong pledged that the chamber will create every possible condition for Austrian firms to invest and expand business in Vietnam .

He reiterated the country’s policy of treasuring the promotion of cooperation with traditional friends that include Austria , one of the first Western nations that established diplomatic ties with Vietnam .

Khuong spoke of Vietnam ’s population of over 80 million, its position as the gateway to other larger regional markets as well as the government’s ongoing reforms and policies to encourage private sector development and build complete legal institutions, market economic mechanism and infrastructure.

He said he believes that these advantages and efforts will make Vietnam an attractive destination for foreign investors, including those from Austria .

Austrian Ambassador Georg Heindl said Austria is enjoying a good political system and a strongly-developed industry and sees them as huge opportunities to increase trade and investment with Vietnam .

Austria also recognises strong growth potentials in Vietnam in particular and Asia in general so this forum will be a chance for it to continue working with Vietnam for more successes in the future, the diplomat said.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, bilateral trade between the two countries increased robustly, from 175 million USD in 2007 to nearly 1.3 billion USD in 2012. The figure is expected to rise higher in the time to come.-VNA