President Tran Dai Quang speaks at the Vietnam-Bangladesh Business Forum in Dhaka on March 6 (Photo: VNA)Dhaka (VNA) – President Tran Dai Quang has urged thebusiness circles of Vietnam and Bangladesh to devise innovation ideas, thus creatingnew momentum for stronger trade and investment links between the two countries.
Addressing the Vietnam-Bangladesh Business Forum in Dhaka on March 6 as part ofhis State visit to Bangladesh, the President expressed his joy at the progressof the bilateral relationship, affirming that visits by senior officials of thetwo nations have helped create new impulses for the relations.
Cooperation mechanisms have been forming across fields, especially those intrade and investment, he stressed.
He also showed his impression of great socio-economic development achievements ofBangladesh which is considered as a successful example of poverty eradication, equalitypromotion, and stable economic growth.
Vietnam always attaches importance to boosting the traditional relationship andcooperation with Bangladesh, and is willing to share experience in the fieldsof its strength, he stated.
President Quang briefed local businesses about Vietnam’soutstanding achievements over the three decades of reforms, especially GDPgrowth, trade, foreign investment attraction, improved investment climate andstrongly upgraded transport infrastructure. He added Vietnam continues to be anattractive investment destination for foreign investors.
Vietnamese businesses are also developing in termof scale and access to the world’s new technologies, he said, noting that thecountry now has about 1,170 investment projects with total registered capitalof over 20 billion USD in 69 countries and territories, covering various fieldssuch as mining, telecommunications, agriculture-forestry, informationtechnology, finance-banking, and services.
The leader emphasized that Vietnam encourages investmentin Bangladesh, especially in the areas with good potential for bilateral cooperationlike telecoms, IT, agriculture, food processing, garment, oil and gas, consumergoods production, infrastructure development, and services.
According to him, the economies of Vietnam andBangladesh share many similarities and are able to support each other, which isan important condition for their businesses to increase investment ties.
President Quang said Vietnam highly values thepotential and opportunities for investment partnership in Bangladesh, askingauthorized agencies of the country to further support and create optimalconditions for Vietnamese firms to access Bangladesh’s market.
Bangladeshi enterprises are also welcomed toinvest in Vietnam, he noted, voicing his belief that with the dynamism of thecountries’ businesses, bilateral trade will surpass 1 billion USD this year and2 billion USD in 2020.
“The State of Vietnam will provide the bestpossible conditions for the business circles in both countries to partner ininvestment and business in an effective and long-term manner for the sake ofeach country’s sustainable development,” President Quang said.
A view of the Vietnam-Bangladesh Business Forum in Dhaka on March 6 (Photo: VNA)The Vietnam-Bangladesh Business Forum was jointly hosted by the VietnameseMinistry of Planning and Investment and the Federation of Bangladesh Chamber ofCommerce and Industry (FBCCI). It attracted the participation of 300 business representativesfrom the two sides.
Established in 1973, FBCCI is representing 3.5 million Bangladeshi businesses.It plays an important role and has great influence on the issuance of economicand commercial policies of the Bangladeshi Government, especially those relatedto foreign investors.
Prior to President Quang’s visit to Bangladesh, FBCCI sent a delegation toVietnam and had working sessions with representatives from Vietnam’s Ministriesof Planning and Investment, and Information and Communications, the VietnamChamber of Commerce and Industry, and some major economic groups such the military-run telecommunication group Viettel, the Vietnam Posts and TelecommunicationsGroup, and Vietnam Northern Food Corporation (Vinafood-1).
Before attending the Vietnam – Bangladeshbusiness forum, President Tran Dai Quang hosted a reception for a delegationfrom the Bangladesh-Vietnam Councilfor Commerce and Industries (BVCCI).
He hailed the role of the BVCCI in promoting thebilateral economic ties, and stated that towards the goal of bringing two-waytrade to 2 billion USD, Vietnam encourages the expansion of trade productsbetween the two countries.
The President called on the BVCCI to enhancecoordination with its Vietnamese partners to improve the framework for tradepartnership and boost the trade of commodities of each country’s strength and demands.
He also urged the council to work with Vietnamto help the two sides participate deeper in the global supply chain in thefields of mutual strength such as garment-textile, footwear and agriculture.
[Infographics: Vietnam, Bangladesh target one billion USD in bilateral trade]
The same day, President Quang, his spouse, andthe high-level Vietnamese delegation attended the opening ceremony of theVietnam culture days in Bangladesh on the occasion of the 45th anniversary ofthe bilateral diplomatic ties (1973-2018).
Speaking at the event, Deputy Prime Minister andForeign Minister Pham Binh Minh said despite the geographical distance, the twocountries still feel the closeness and share a lot of cultural similarities,especially the wet rice agriculture.
The Vietnamese culture days in Bangladesh willhelp strengthen solidarity and friendship between the two peoples as well asreinforce the two countries’ development cooperation, Minh said.
After cutting the ribbon to kick-off the event,President Quang and his spouse along with Minister of Foreign Affairs MahmoodAli and Vietnamese and Bangladeshi senior officials visited the Vietnamesecultural space.
In the afternoon of March 6 (local time), the VietnamesePresident left Dhaka, concluding successfully his three-day State visit toBangladesh at the invitation of President Abdul Hamid.-VNA
VNA
