Vietnam ready to assist Australian businesses: diplomat

DNHN - Vietnam will support Australian enterprises as they explore and expand their investment, business and trade activities in the country, Vietnamese Ambassador to Australia Nguyen Tat Thanh told the host’s business community on May 5.

Addressing a meeting with representatives from Australian firms, Thanh briefed them on the economic situation and trade development potential of Vietnam.

He cited the Asian Development Bank’s forecast as saying that Vietnam's economy will post a strong recovery in 2022, with growth reaching 6.5 percent, and 6.7 percent in 2023.

In the annual "Best Countries Rankings" compiled by the US News & World Report, Vietnam is currently placed 25th, he said, adding that the country is a promising investment environment for foreign businesses, not only in big cities like Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang, but also in other provinces and cities.

Regarding Vietnam-Australia relations, the ambassador said that the two sides share many economic cooperation frameworks, as they are members of the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (AANZFTA), the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and most recently the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

Both governments strongly support bilateral economic cooperation and development. In 2018, the two countries upgraded their relationship to a strategic partnership, and they are expected to continue to push this relationship to a new level - comprehensive strategic partnership - in February 2023. This will create favourable conditions for their businesses to cooperate and promote investment, he affirmed.

Graham Kinder, Vice President of the Australia-Vietnam Business Council, stated that Australian businesses see a lot of investment opportunities in all areas in Vietnam, from trade and investment to education, tourism and transportation.

That’s why Australia wants to expand its investment in the Southeast Asian nation, he said.

He also stressed that it is time for the two business communities to take advantage of cooperation opportunities in the post-pandemic period, after the two governments officially reopened their national borders and are promoting investment cooperation activities.

Source NDO