|
Egyptian minister promotes investment
Egyptian Minister of Investment Mahmoud Mohieldin arrived in Ha Noi last week to promote investment opportunities and enhanced economic co-operation between Viet Nam and Egypt.
What's the state of trade relations between our two countries?
This is my second visit to Viet Nam. The first was in 1997. I was a member of the technical team then, taking responsibility for preparations for the bilateral investment treaty. I came again this time because there will be something related to the treaty, basically pushing it further and having more protocols.
Viet Nam now is very different than it was then, and Egypt is different as well. When I first came here, bilateral trade was US$14-15 million. Today, it is still modest, but reaching more than $167 million.
The trade balance is still favourable to Viet Nam, which has an export turnover with Egypt of around $150 million. Our exports to Viet Nam are not much, about $15-20 million.
In terms of investment, there are not any Egyptian investors in Viet Nam. Egypt has received nine Vietnamese investors during the past three years.
The Egyptian economy is very dynamic, growing at 7 percent per year. Today, the country's GDP is $180 billion and Viet Nam's is about $80 billion. After the crisis, our economic growth is expected to reach 5 percent or more this fiscal year.
What have you accomplished on this visit to Viet Nam?
First of all, we signed an agreement with the Ministry of Planing and Investment to enhance investment co-operation. This will involve more technical assistance from the two governments and further boost business delegations from Egypt to Viet Nam and vice versa.
Next, I will co-ordinate with the Egyptian Minister of Trade to provide Viet Nam with the required support to implement WTO commitments and recognition of free market status for Viet Nam.
The third item is in the area of avoidance of double taxation. The agreement has been signed by the Vietnamese Ministry of Finance, and we will co-ordinate with the Minister of Finance in Egypt to hasten the process of signing in our country. This is the final pillar in the framework of co-operation in order to facilitate trade and investment between the two countries.
Fourth, the Egyptian Government has invited leaders of the Vietnamese Government to come to Egypt to participate in an important investment conference in April. It is expected that 19 East African nations, along with other African and Asian countries, will attend the event. Tomorrow, I will go to Beijing and Shanghai to invite China as well.
While Viet Nam and Egypt need to do many things for mutual development, we will focus on agriculture, fisheries, food processing, tourism, infrastructure and financial services.
When do you think we can approach the target of bilateral trade of $500 million? And what will Egypt do to reduce its trade deficit with Viet Nam?
A greater concern is trade value rather than a trade gap. Because trade volume is small in comparison with some of your neighbouring countries, we need to look at the overall context of the relationship. The relationship is not just about trade but also investment, tourism, capital transfer, and trade in services. We are just beginning discussions about enhancing this economic link.
In terms of the trade target, some officials today talk about $300 million, others $500 million. The Vietnamese and Egyptian economies have the potential to create more trade opportunities.
We have little knowledge about each other, but we see great opportunities. We need to promote more business delegations between the two nations, not just senior officials. Officials spare one or two days a year on exchanging visits, after which the business community needs to do more promotion. The figure of $500 million is not a distant target if we put that in order.
Related to investment, there are nine Vietnamese companies in Egypt, a very small number. This is just a beginning.
What are the opportunities for Vietnamese investors?
Our investment and trade goals are based on the requirements of the economy. We need to attain economic growth of no less than 6-7 percent per year. Therefore, we need to have a total investment of no less than 21-22 percent of GDP. We manage around 70 percent of that figure from domestic forces.
Our target is to have at least 5 percent foreign direct investment in Egypt. Our economic growth was 7 percent before the crisis and is 5 percent now.
Foreign investment inflows have totalled $4 billion, $7 billion, $11 billion, $13.2 in the four years before the economic crisis, and $8 billion during the crisis last year. So, having averaged $10 billion per year over the last four years placed Egypt in the top three countries in attracting investment in Africa and the Arab region.
Our trade usually increases at triple the rate of economic growth. If our economic growth rate maintains at about 5 percent, trade will increase by about 15 percent. We have seen even more than that. During the time of 6-7 per cent growth, trade rose by 30 percent per year.
We import raw materials, intermediate goods and many food items. We are open for trade and one of the most liberal countries in trade relations. You can ask your neighbours in Japan, China, Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea about our trade relations with them.
We didn't discriminate against countries by imposing protective measures during the crisis. We have been among the very few nations to liberalise after the crisis. We have reduced tariff rates unilaterally without expecting any similar responses from our trade partners. Trade is better for us because it is competitive.
vietnamnews
|
