Vietnam is ready to provide assistance to its businesses in establishing cooperation with their Irish counterparts in the field of information and communication technologies (ICT), said Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai on Nov. 16.

Speaking at the Vietnam-Ireland Business Forum held in Hanoi , Deputy PM Hai also expressed his support for the establishment of the Vietnam-Ireland Business Council which will serve as a regular channel to exchange and review cooperation, investment and trade between the two countries.

The forum, entitled “Cooperation for the Development of the Software Industry in Vietnam ”, will open a new door of opportunity for businesses on both sides to cooperate in the ICT sector, added Deputy PM Hai.

Irish ambassador to Vietnam Maeve Collins expressed her hope that the forum will create closer contact between Vietnamese and Irish businesspeople, who have come to share their experiences and set up cooperative relationships, especially in the information and communication technologies sector.

According to Truong Gia Binh, Chairman of the Management Board of the FPT group, who is also Chairman of Vietnam Software Association, Vietnam’s ICT market has rapidly grown in recent years thanks to its abundant workforce and its strong and dynamic relationship with Japan, the world’s leading ICT market.

Binh added that Vietnam is expected to have around 1 million technology technicians in its workforce in future.

Currently, the Vietnamese government is creating favourable conditions for ICT enterprises to operate in Vietnam, such as reducing taxes over a period of four years, applying preferential tax rates for individuals, zero-percent import and export taxes for software products and materials, and cutting internet installation costs for companies.

Participants to the forum were also provided with an overview of the information technology sector in Ireland, its products and technologies. Ireland is now the world’s third-largest software exporter./.