General Secretary and President: Vietnam always welcomes Irish businesses to expand cooperation

General Secretary and President To Lam expressed his hope that Irish businesses would pay attention to and support Vietnamese businesses in participating in the value chain; and carry out effective and sustainable investment and business activities.

General Secretary and President To Lam speaks. (Photo: Tri Dung/VNA)

According to the VNA special correspondent, within the framework of the State visit to Ireland, on the morning of October 3rd, in Dublin, General Secretary and President To Lam and the high-level Vietnamese delegation held meet Irish businesses.

This event was organized by the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade in collaboration with the Vietnamese Embassy in the United Kingdom (which also covers Ireland), the Irish Business Organisation (an Irish government organization), and the Dublin Chamber of Commerce.

The chairmen, CEOs, and leaders of 15 of Ireland's largest corporations expressed interest in investing in Vietnam, focusing on four key areas of cooperation with great potential: high technology, agriculture, industry-energy, and healthcare.

In an open and friendly atmosphere, at the meeting, representatives of Irish corporations and businesses shared information about investment and business projects that have been and are being implemented, as well as ideas they wish to implement in the near future in Vietnam, and made suggestions on how to improve the effectiveness of investment and business cooperation between the two countries.

Speaking at the meeting, General Secretary and President To Lam We highly appreciate the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Vietnamese Embassy in the United Kingdom (which also covers Ireland) for coordinating with Irish business organizations to organize this meeting with businesses.

Irish businesses attend the meeting. (Photo: Tri Dung/VNA)

Through the exchange with Irish businesses, the General Secretary and President were pleased to note that many Irish businesses have implemented effective investment projects and achieved considerable success in various fields and in several localities of Vietnam.

General Secretary and President To Lam shared his impression of the energy and enthusiasm of the Irish business community in their determination to boost business cooperation, trade, and investment with Vietnam in the coming time; he noted that the current figure of 41 FDI projects with a capital of 60.82 million USD from Ireland in Vietnam is still modest compared to the potential of the two countries.

General Secretary and President To Lam emphasized that over the past four decades, Vietnam has continuously strived for innovation, opening up, and integration. From a backward economy, Vietnam has risen to become one of the top 40 leading economies, with a trade volume in the top 20 globally, and an important link in the international supply chain with 16 free trade agreements, including the Vietnam-European Union Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), of which Ireland is a member.

Vietnam is one of the few economies capable of maintaining high Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rates over many years, even during periods of global economic hardship due to pandemics, trade conflicts, or geopolitical tensions.

In fact, GDP in 2023 reached over $430 billion, a growth of 5.05%, and is projected to reach 6.0-6.5% in 2024.

Vietnam's investment environment is constantly improving and continues to receive positive assessments from the international community and investors regarding its growth prospects and business environment.

Vietnam is becoming a safe and attractive investment destination, with the presence of investors from 141 countries and territories, with over 40,500 projects and a total registered capital of over US$484.7 billion. Vietnam has been included in the list of Top 20 countries attracting FDI worldwide.

After nearly 30 years of establishing diplomatic relations, the cooperative and friendly relationship between Vietnam and Ireland has achieved many important accomplishments and is increasingly consolidated and strengthened in all fields.

In terms of trade and economics alone, trade turnover between the two countries has increased 2.5 times in just the last 6 years, despite recent fluctuations in the global economy.

Ireland is Vietnam's sixth largest trading partner and second largest import market within the European Union. Both countries aim to increase bilateral trade to US$5 billion in a fairer and more sustainable manner by 2026, when they celebrate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.

General Secretary and President To Lam stated that Vietnam is standing at a new historical starting point, a new era - an era of national resurgence.

Vietnam advocates for effectively leveraging the opportunities presented by the Fourth Industrial Revolution to promote the renewal of its growth model, restructure the economy in conjunction with implementing strategic breakthroughs and modernizing the country; vigorously develop the digital economy; and achieve rapid and sustainable development based on science and technology, innovation, and high-quality human resources.

With this long-term vision, Vietnam aims to attract selective investment focused on developing the digital economy, green economy, circular economy, and knowledge economy.

Specifically, priority will be given to high-tech projects, electronics, semiconductors, innovation, renewable energy, new energy (hydrogen), biotechnology, healthcare, international financial centers, modern trade and services, infrastructure construction, and research and development activities.

Against this backdrop of new opportunities, General Secretary and President To Lam stated that the potential for cooperation between the two countries remains abundant and needs to be further promoted, given the rich internal resources of each side as well as the vitality of the new era—the era of scientific and technological revolution and deep global integration.

Suggesting some directions for future cooperation, General Secretary and President To Lam emphasized that Vietnam hopes Irish businesses, with their capabilities and resources, will continue to invest even more strongly in Vietnam.

For businesses that have already implemented projects in Vietnam, we encourage them to expand their collaborative projects. For companies currently researching and exploring investment opportunities in Vietnam, we hope they will prioritize and choose Vietnam as a strategic destination for investment and infrastructure development. This would allow them to supply manufactured products to the domestic market while also leveraging the benefits of Vietnam's existing free trade agreements to export to regional and global markets.

General Secretary and President To Lam affirmed that Vietnam always welcomes and encourages Irish businesses to expand cooperation.

General Secretary and President To Lam attends the meeting. (Photo: Tri Dung/VNA)

Regarding the specific proposals from Irish businesses, General Secretary and President To Lam affirmed that Vietnamese agencies always stand alongside and are ready to share and create all favorable conditions for foreign businesses, including Irish businesses, to invest and conduct business effectively, contributing to the socio-economic development of both countries.

General Secretary and President To Lam expressed his hope that Irish businesses would pay attention to and support Vietnamese businesses in participating in the value chain; carrying out investment and business activities with efficiency, sustainability, high social responsibility, environmental protection, and making positive contributions to socio-economic development and Vietnam's strong and comprehensive transformation strategy, focusing on digital transformation, green transformation and global governance transformation.

With the joint efforts of both sides, we will continue to achieve more success in the future, working together towards a stable, prosperous, and sustainable future for both countries.

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