Exchange and explore cooperation opportunities between Nghe An and Hungarian enterprises

On the side of the working delegation were Mr. Pham Ngoc Chu - Vice President of the Vietnam Business Association, President of the Vietnam Business Association in Hungary, Member of the Executive Committee of the Hungarian Olympic Committee, Head of the delegation; Mr. Czigler László - First Vice President of Újpest Budapest city.

Attending the meeting were leaders of the Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of Industry and Trade, Department of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs, representatives of the Nghe An Provincial Business Association, and a number of enterprises.

At the meeting, Mr. Tran Khanh Thuc - Director of the Department of Foreign Affairs shared some general information about the economic and social situation of the province. Nghe An has the largest natural land area in the country with nearly 16,500 km², rich and diverse terrain, with sea, plains, midlands and mountains; population of more than 3.4 million people, the fourth most populous in the country, of which about 1.9 million are of working age and the proportion of skilled workers is quite high. Nghe An is the education and training center of the North Central region with 6 universities, 11 colleges, more than 70 secondary schools and vocational training centers.

Nghe An's economic scale is ranked 10th out of 63 provinces and cities in Vietnam; economic growth rate in 2022 reached 9.08%, in 2023 reached 7.14%. In particular, attracting FDI capital is a bright spot, reaching nearly 1 billion USD in 2022, nearly 1.6 billion USD in 2023; up to now, Nghe An province has 144 registered FDI projects, with a total registered capital of more than 4.92 billion USD. In 2023, Nghe An ranked 8th out of 63 provinces and cities attracting the largest FDI capital in the country.

In recent years, in terms of investment attraction, Nghe An has made remarkable breakthroughs. Many large-scale FDI enterprises have invested in Nghe An such as: Goertek Group (China) invested 500 million USD, Everwin (Hong Kong) 200 million USD, Luxshare ICT (China) 330 million USD; Ju Teng (Taiwan) 200 million USD to build factories to manufacture electronic products, network equipment, etc.

Regarding economic trade activities with Hungary, in 2023, Nghe An's export turnover to Hungary reached 65,988 USD. The main items are cassava and cassava products (54 thousand USD), paving stones (9.2 thousand USD), plastic additives (2.6 thousand USD). In the first 9 months of 2024, Nghe An's total export turnover to Hungary reached 32,286 USD, the main items are plastic additives (20.7 thousand USD), cassava and cassava products (11.5 thousand USD).

The number of workers going to work abroad under fixed-term labor contracts of the province from 2020 to the first 10 months of 2024 is 192,691 people, of which 1,847 are working in Hungary. Nghe An workers going to work in Hungary mainly in the following occupations: agriculture, food processing, construction, industrial production, welding, and cooking. Hungary is a very attractive market for Vietnamese workers because of its high wages.

At the meeting, the two sides exchanged ideas to enhance mutual understanding, provided information on issues of concern regarding trade, import and export, investment cooperation, labor export, study abroad, etc. Some Nghe An enterprises also introduced OCOP products, lotus tea products, aluminum profiles and assembly accessories, etc.

Mr. Nguyen Cong Thanh - General Director of the Center for Promotion and Support of Trade and Cultural Development of Hungary - Vietnam said that the Center is ready to act as a trade bridge, connecting business delegations to survey cooperation needs. In addition, the Center will support training of sports athletes - a field in which Hungary has strengths.

Sharing at the meeting, Mr. Tran Khanh Thuc - Director of the Department of Foreign Affairs thanked the attention of the Chairman of the Vietnam Business Association in Hungary and the Nghe Tinh Association in Hungary for connecting to have a very effective meeting and working session, opening the way for bilateral cooperation in the coming time.

To strengthen cooperation between the two sides in the coming time, Director of the Department of Foreign Affairs - Tran Khanh Thuc hopes that the Vietnamese Business Association in Hungary and the Nghe Tinh Overseas Vietnamese Association will continue to provide information and organize forums to connect online and directly with businesses in all fields.

The leaders of the Department of Foreign Affairs also asked the authorities of Újpest Budapest city to pay attention to introducing and promoting Nghe An province to the city's businesses so that the two sides can strengthen trade and investment cooperation.

The Vietnamese Business Association in Hungary and the Nghe Tinh Association in Hungary promote the resources of overseas Vietnamese towards the Fatherland according to the policies of the Party and State, actively connect with functional agencies and the business community in the province to promote two-way trade cooperation and labor export to Hungary, and contribute to the development of the homeland and the country.