Abu Dhabi (VNA) – Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh received Yusuff Ali Musaliam Veettil Abdul Kader, Chairman and Managing Director of LuLu Group International, in Abu Dhabi on October 27, as part of his official visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The group owns the LuLu Hypermarket chain in 23 countries over the world, and enjoys an annual revenue of over 8 billion USD.

Yusuff Ali said that Lulu has established a representative office in Ho Chi Minh City to purchase Vietnamese products for its system of 265 hypermarkets around the world. He expressed his hope to receive support from the Government to expand its market in Vietnam.

Thanking and appreciating the group for acting as a bridge to introduce quality Vietnamese products to consumers in the Middle East as well as other countries through its large-scale and widespread hypermarket chain, PM Chinh said that Vietnam is a country with a sustainably developing economy, a stable GDP growth rate, a large population with a rapidly growing middle class, and constantly improving per capita income.

Vietnam aims to be in the upper middle-income group by 2030 and a high-income developed country by 2045. With increasing consumer needs, the Vietnamese market holds great potential for the consumption of quality products.

In addition, Vietnam has deeply integrated into the international community with 19 free trade agreements (FTAs) signed with more than 60 countries, of which 16 have come into effect. Combined with a favourable geographical location and an increasingly improving logistics system, Vietnam has numerous favourable conditions for imports and exports, and for connecting with major markets in the region as well as the world such as Japan, the Republic of Korea, China, Europe, and America, Chinh said.

The Vietnamese Government leader asked Lulu Group to continue to promote and introduce more potential Vietnamese products that are suitable for consumer tastes to approach and serve the UAE market as well as the Middle East and other markets in the group's hypermarket chain around the world.

Attention should be paid to considering investment cooperation with capable Vietnamese partners to open a hypermarket chain in Vietnam, a 100-million-strong market with great purchasing power, thus accessing the larger ASEAN market, he stressed.

The Prime Minister suggested that Lulu Group, with its extensive network of branches, will serve as a bridge to attract potential investors from both within and outside the UAE to invest in Vietnam. Asking the group to accelerate the building of an agricultural processing facility in Vietnam, he pledged that his country will accompany and create favourable conditions for foreign investors, including Lulu, in developing their business activities in line with legal regulations.

Noting that Vietnam is promoting the development of the Halal industry, the Prime Minister stated that with its strategy to diversify products, production chains, and supply chains, Lulu should collaborate with and support Vietnam in advancing this sector.

ღ Agreeing with the Vietnamese PM’s suggestions, the Lulu Group leader said that the company will expand the list of goods and increase imports from Vietnam. It will closely coordinate with Vietnamese agencies to organize Vietnamese goods fairs in the UAE and Gulf countries, so that consumers gain greater access to Vietnamese products./.