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Shoulder-to-shoulder with Eurocham
Over the past years, together with Vietnam’s rapid economic growth, economic, investment and commercial cooperation between Vietnam and Europe has also developed strongly, becoming an important mainstay of relations between the two sides.
Europe is now Vietnam’s leading economic partner with bilateral trade reaching $17.4 billion in 2007 and $14.9 billion in the first eight months of 2008. By the end of 2007, registered investment capital from Europe to Vietnam was $24.5 billion, present in almost all economic sectors with high technology transfer content and advanced management methods.
I would like to welcome and praise the great contributions from European enterprises, including EuroCham members, to these important achievements. In the past 10 years, EuroCham has continuously developed into an important organisation, representing more than 600 European enterprises doing business and making investments in Vietnam.
In parallel with protecting benefits and providing services to its members, EuroCham has positively helped with the promotion of the Vietnamese image, and trade and investment as well as encouraging and attracting European enterprises to penetrate the Vietnamese market, becoming a channel of dialogue and consultancy for relevant Vietnamese agencies in improving the investment and business environment, international integration experience, and human resource training for Vietnamese enterprises.
The Vietnamese government has been determined to take measures to curb inflation, maintain macroeconomic stability and guarantee social security so as to overcome difficulties ahead and work towards sustainable development targets. In the long-term, we continue to speed up administrative reform, increase investment in infrastructure construction, increase focus on developing quality human resources, and seriously implement WTO commitments to create a more favourable investment environment for domestic and foreign enterprises.
In the industrialisation and modernisation process and the nation’s global economic integration, Vietnam places special emphasis on strengthening and developing economic, commercial and investment cooperation with Europe. The Vietnamese government always attaches importance to the creation of favourable conditions for foreign enterprises in general - and European enterprises in particular - to invest and do business in Vietnam on the basis of equality, non-discrimination and mutual benefit.
I am confident that EuroCham will continue to play an important role in Vietnam’s economic development, especially in attracting and encouraging European enterprises to enter the Vietnamese market, as well as to act as a policy consultant and help with the training of Vietnamese human resources.
On the occasion of EuroCham’s 10th anniversary, I would like to extend my best wishes to EuroCham Chairman Alain Cany, the EuroCham Executive Committee, and all EuroCham members. I wish you all good health and every success.
With best regards,
Pham Gia Khiem
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs
VNA
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