Berlin (VNA) ⛦– Vinh Phuc province recently held a seminar in Potsdam city of Germany’s Brandenburg state to introduce investment opportunities in this northern locality of Vietnam.

The event was organised by a working delegation from Vinh Phuc, the Vietnamese Embassy in Germany, along with authorities and enterprises of Brandenburg. Speaking at the seminar on August 28, Hoang Thi Thuy Lan, member of the Party Central Committee and Secretary of the provincial Party Committee, said the support industry for the auto mechanics sector, electronics, tourism, education – training, health care, environmental treatment, and smart city building are the priorities for investment attraction of Vinh Phuc for the time to come. Introducing local development potential, she said Vinh Phuc is located next to Hanoi capital city and Noi Bai International Airport while having favourable transport infrastructure in road, rail, and waterways, which are optimal conditions for economic development. From an agricultural land, it has developed into an industrial province with industry and services accounting for 90 percent of the local economic structure.

𒁏[Vinh Phuc investment promotion seminar held in RoK]

Vinh Phuc is currently an attractive destination for both domestic and foreign investors, she stressed. As of June 2019, it housed 1,095 investment projects, including 357 foreign direct investment (FDI) ones worth more than 4.7 billion USD from 17 countries and territories. Germany is investing in one project valued at 250,000 USD in the province. Lan said a number of large multinational enterprises are operating in Vinh Phuc such as Toyota, Sumitomo (Japan); Piaggio (Italy); De Heus (the Netherlands); Daewoo, Patron Vina, Heasung Vina, Interflex, Bangjoo, Cammsys (the Republic of Korea); Prime Group (Thailand); and Weldex (the US). A representative from the Potsdam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IHK) highlighted many conditions for tapping into cooperation potential between Vietnam and Germany, including Brandenburg. In the recent past, trade between Brandenburg and Vietnam has been on the rise. Brandenburg exports machinery, medical equipment, chemicals and pharmaceuticals to the Southeast Asian nation, which in turn ships electronic components, footwear and garment to the German state. The Potsdam chamber also pointed out many similarities between Vinh Phuc and Potsdam, noting both are located near the capital cities and large international airports and have favourable conditions for agricultural and tourism development. However, cooperation between Vinh Phuc and Potsdam has yet to match that potential, the representative said, speaking highly of the cooperation potential in fields like auto industry, renewable energy, environmental technology and vocational training. Addressing the seminar, Vietnamese Ambassador to Germany Nguyen Minh Vu said Vietnam is highly valued for its political, social and macro-economic stability, along with the continually improved legal regulations and transparency, which have created conditions for investors and businesses’ long-term operations and engagement in regional and global supply chains. Vietnam is a promising market for German businesses, he noted, adding that after 12 years of being a member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the country is now among the most open markets. It has also taken part in and finalised negotiations on 13 bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements (FTAs), including new-generation and high-quality ones. Notably, the FTA and the Investment Protection Agreement between the European Union and Vietnam, inked in June 2019, will bring about numerous new opportunities for EU investors and businesses, including those from Germany, according to him. The diplomat underlined the two countries’ growing ties across the board, as well as the huge cooperation potential in infrastructure development, mechanics, innovation, industrialisation of agriculture, processing industry, human resources training, tourism and cultural exchange. The Vietnamese Government and administrations of localities, including Vinh Phuc, are sparing no effort in building an attractive and transparent business climate to attract more and more foreign investors, he added. Also on August 28, the Vinh Phuc delegation paid a courtesy call to Brandenburg leaders and had a working session with multinational conglomerate Siemens./.