A seminar was held in Paris on June 11 focusing on attracting foreign investment inflows in Vietnam and improving Vietnamese business competitiveness with input from scholars residing in France and the US.

The seminar is the follow-up to a similar dialogue themed “Reforming the Vietnamese economy: the role of new strategic partnerships” hosted by the Trade Office of the Vietnamese Embassy in France last February, said Commercial Counsellor of Vietnamese embassy in France Nguyen Canh Cuong in his opening speech.

Professor Tran Ngoc Anh, public policy lecturer from the US’s Indiana and Harvard universities, stressed the significance of stepping up equitisation.

He also mentioned the activities of V-idea (Vietnam Initiative for Development and Economic Analysis), a global network of independent scholars at home and abroad contributing ideas to Vietnam’s development cause.

French-Vietnamese banking expert Ghislain Nguyen presented an analysis of Vietnam’s trade policy and banking system, both of which are key to Vietnam’s integration into the world economy.

For his part, Editor-in-chief of Bordelex & Trade Policy Dreyer Lana spoke of the European Union (EU)’s trade policies and issues regarding the Vietnam-EU free trade agreement, negotiations for which are in their final stages.

Jacques Fourvel, advisor to the President of Casino Group, parent company of the Big C supermarket chain in Vietnam, hoped for additional foreign investment protection from the government.

Participants urged their proposals be considered towards bringing benefits to Vietnam.

The event was co-hosted by the Trade Office of the Vietnamese Embassy in France and the Association of Vietnamese Scientists and Experts in France.-VNA