The Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee and the Vietnamese Embassy in the UK on October 24 held a conference on investment-trade promotion between the UK and the city in London.

Participants were informed about the city’s updated socio-economic development situation; investment environment, incentives and priority; and major projects that the city calling for foreign investment.

They also discussed potential areas of cooperation between the UK and Vietnam in general and between the UK and Ho Chi Minh City in particular.

Representatives of businesses from both countries also shared investment, business and trade experiences in the two markets and gave recommendations for each other to make use of advantages.

Vietnamese Ambassador to the UK Nguyen Hoang Long highlighted the achievements and prospects of implementing the Vietnam-UK Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA) and the UK’s membership of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

He said Vietnam, as an emerging market, can become an important partner of the UK which has strengths in commerce, financial services, banking services, science, and education, and called on UK businesses to continue investing in Vietnam, especially in Ho Chi Minh City.

Vice Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Vo Van Hoan said that the city is now prioritising digital transformation and green transformation, expressing his hope that businesses from both sides can promote cooperation.

The British Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy for Thailand, Myanmar, Brunei and Vietnam Mark Garnier said that Vietnam-UK cooperation in areas of education, health care and financial services is developing well, adding that the Vietnamese market with a rapidly growing middle class is creating a big and interesting opportunity for British businesses.

CEO of the UK-ASEAN Business Council Ian Gibbons affirmed that in ASEAN, Vietnam is the country with the most developed relationship with the UK. He spoke highly of the city’s socio-economic development achievements, and encouraged British businesses to come to Vietnam to explore the market, especially in Ho Chi Minh City.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the Vietnamese Business Association in the UK (VBUK) Hoang Viet Phuong said that for further trade and investment cooperation between Ho Chi Minh City and the UK, the two sides need to create a favourable investment environment, support market access, technology transfer and research cooperation, and strengthen the business connection network of Ho Chi Minh City and VUBK.

VNA