Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc speaks at the forum (Source: VNA)Oslo (VNA) - Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc highlighted potentials forVietnam and Norway to enhance economic cooperation, especially in renewableenergy, industry and aquaculture, at the Vietnam-Norway Business Forum in Osloon May 24.
Addressing at the event as part of the activities in his ongoing official visitto Norway, the Government leader said that the bilateral political relations inrecent years have fruitfully developed, but their economic ties have yet toachieve high efficiency.
The two countries are aiming to establish partnership as mentioned in the JointStatement issued during the Norwegian Prime Minister’s official visit toVietnam in 2018, he added.
Briefing Norwegian businesses and investors on Vietnam’s socio-economicdevelopment, PM Phuc highlighted that the country is one of four with thehighest economic growth in the world.
Vietnamhas so far participated in 11 new-generation free-trade agreements, especially the Comprehensive andProgressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), and thecountry is urgently coordinating with the European Union (EU) to sign theEU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) in 2019, he pointed out.
Coming to Vietnam, Norwegian businesses can access many major markets in theregion, especially ASEAN market, the leader said.
Regarding the trade between the two countries, PM Phuc said it has madeprogress but is still not matching with the existing potential, reaching only 350million USD in 2018.
He affirmed that Vietnam is focusing on maintaining a high economic growth between6.5-7 percent in the coming years in order to continue to improve the scale ofthe economy and the per capita income in Vietnam, which is still much lowercompared to Norway.
Vietnam will continue to reform legal institutions, restructure the economy,utilise the potential of the private economic sector, and continue to promote internationalintegration in the direction of free trade.
The country is calling for investment to green economy, infrastructure, renewableenergy, maritime economy, and industry, he said, hoping that Norwegianinvestors will be interested in Vietnam and seek opportunities to promotewin-win cooperation between the two countries.
In his speech, Norwegian Minister of Industry and Trade Torbjorn Roe Isaksen saidthe forum offers a good change for the two sides’ enterprises to explore businessand investment opportunities in each country.
He stressed that Vietnam is "a bright spot in economic development"and Norway wants to upgrade its relations with Vietnam to an economic and tradepartnership, thus benefiting the peoples and businesses of both nations.
Emphasising the potential for Vietnamese and Norwegian business communities toset up long-time cooperation, the official said the two sides have a basis to coordinatein coping with challenges related to climate change and to expand economiccooperation.
The Vietnam-Norway economic cooperation is constantly improved throughinvestment, production and business activities of Norwegian enterprises andinvestors in Vietnam, he said, expressing his hope that more and moreenterprises from his country will pour investment into Vietnam in the time tocome.
In the framework of the forum, three cooperation agreements on energy,logistics and electricity were signed between the two sides.
The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) also inked a cooperationagreement with the Norwegian trade and investment agency to develop projectsand programmes to support businesses of the two sides in the process ofinvestment and business.-VNA
VNA
