DEPUTY MINISTER PHAN THI THANG ATTENDED THE VIETNAM – SPAIN BUSINESS DISCUSSION

From February 27 to March 5, 2023, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Phan Thi Thang accompanied Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang to visit and work in the Kingdom of Spain. During the visit, Deputy Minister Phan Thi Thang attended the Vietnam – Spain business discussion co-chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister of Vietnam and the Spanish Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism.

Vietnam – Spain business discussion took place on the morning of March 2, 2023 by the Spanish Confederation of Employers (CEOE) in coordination with the Vietnamese Embassy in Spain, Ministry of Industry and Trade. and Spain Tourism organization has attracted the participation of nearly 50 leading Spanish corporations and large enterprises and more than 20 Vietnamese enterprises to attend.

Speaking at the opening of the discussion, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang and Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism Maria Reyes Maroto both affirmed that bilateral relations between the two countries have a good foundation and many bright development prospects. more in the future, especially in the fields of economics, investment and trade thanks to the stable and dynamic economic development in each country as well as the position and role of the two countries in the region. This is the pillar and driving force to promote relations between the two countries to develop to a new level. On behalf of the Spanish business community, President of CEOE International – Ms. Maria Blanco and Head of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce – Ms. Immaculada Riera also agreed with the above opinion and said that Western corporations and businesses Spain is very interested in the Vietnamese market in particular and the ASEAN market in general, as a destination to diversify the market in its business strategy.

Speaking at the discussion, Deputy Minister Phan Thi Thang also commented that bilateral trade cooperation has maintained good growth momentum over the past 8 years and the effective EVFTA Agreement has created new momentum, boosting trade turnover. The two sides increased sharply from August 2020 when almost 100% of import and export tax lines returned to 0% according to a 7-10 year roadmap. The strategic location of the two countries at the gateway to important economic regions of Asia and Europe helps the two countries become a bridge between the two most dynamic economic regions of the world. In particular, Vietnam has participated in 15 Free Trade Agreements (FTA) with nearly 60 countries around the world; Among them, important FTAs ​​open many of the world’s largest markets such as CPTPP, EVFTA, AFTA, RCEP… helping Vietnam to become an important hub in the Asia Pacific region.

To make good use of these advantages and opportunities, the Deputy Minister proposed that the business community of both sides increase bilateral trade exchange and investment cooperation, focusing on areas such as: (i) Processing industry food processing and supporting technology for the textile, garment, and footwear industries; (ii) Developing infrastructure and logistics services to serve the increasing flow of import and export goods; (iii) Cooperation in the renewable energy industry, clean energy, especially green hydrogen, aiming towards sustainable economic development. Also at the Seminar, Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc introduced business investment opportunities in Vietnam; At the same time, it provides a list of projects calling for investment cooperation with Spanish businesses.