Vientiane (VNA) - A recent Vietnam-Laos agricultural investment promotion conference has been expected to turn economic, trade and investment cooperation plans into action and deepen the great friendship, special solidarity, comprehensive cooperation and strategic cohesion between their Parties, States and people.
The event was co-hosted by the Vietnamese Embassy in Laos, the Lao Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, the Laos-Vietnam Cooperation Committee, the Lao Investment Promotion and Management Committee and the Vietnam Business Association in Laos (AVILA).
Coming right after Prime Minister Le Minh Hung’s official visit to Laos, the conference was meant to give effect to high-level cooperation pledges and open new room for collaboration. More than 250 delegates attended the event, including leaders of the legislature, ministries and agencies, and officials from 11 Lao provinces, along with leading companies of both countries.
Some 208 Vietnamese companies are investing in crops, forestry and livestock in Laos, with registered capital of about 1.4 billion USD. Authorities in both countries are also upgrading transport and energy infrastructure as they aim to lift bilateral trade to 10 billion USD by 2030, while pressing ahead with efforts to draw more investment.
Pham Hai Duong, Deputy General Director of the Vietnam Rubber Group, told the Vietnam News Agency (VNA)'s resident reporters in Vientiane that expanding investment in Laos has been the right move and has brought practical benefits to both sides.
Duong said the VRG’s projects in Laos have delivered high revenue and profit over two decades of rubber planting, showing the land suits industrial crops, and central and southern Laos hold ample potential for rubber, coffee and high-tech agriculture. The company aims to secure 120,000-150,000 ha for industrial crops in Laos by 2030, and wants Lao authorities at all levels to speed up procedures so it can obtain investment licences sooner.
Somsaad Ounsida, Chairman of the Khammuon provincial Administration Committee, said Vietnamese investors in the province have stood out for their financial strength, technology and management skills. Khammuon has drawn more than 20 Vietnamese projects, 11 of them in agriculture and forestry, which have driven economic restructuring, created jobs and improved local incomes.
Somsaad said Khammuon puts attracting and supporting Vietnamese investors at the top of its agenda and stays ready to clear any obstacles. He invited Vietnamese companies to keep surveying opportunities and expand into agriculture, energy and minerals, and tourism in the province.
Khamphoui Sibounheuang, Vice Chairman of the Savannakhet provincial Administration Committee, said investment in the province has lagged its potential despite more than 651,000 ha of agricultural land and a location on the East-West Economic Corridor, which links directly to Vietnam’s seaports.
To prepare for a new wave of investment, the province has adopted a five-year strategy that zones farmland into three priority areas with 13 major projects open to investors, mostly in commodity production such as Homsavan glutinous rice and agricultural processing.
Savannakhet has set aside an industrial park in Xaybuathong district for Vietnamese investors to build processing plants, modern slaughterhouses, animal feed factories and fertiliser plants. The province, which lies on an economic corridor linked to Vung Ang and Cua Lo ports, welcomes Vietnamese companies and is ready to work with them directly to turn that potential into projects, Khamphoui added./.
