"Vietnam rolls out the red carpet to welcome Indian businesses to invest"

According to VNA Special Envoy, on the evening of October 27, speaking at the Vietnam - India Trade and Investment Forum in New Delhi, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung affirmed that Vietnam always welcomes Indian businesses to do business and invest in Vietnam and pledges to create favorable conditions for their operations.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung attends the symbolic launching ceremony of the Vietnam - India direct flight. Photo: VNA

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung emphasized that the Vietnam-India relationship was founded by President Ho Chi Minh and Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, and has been nurtured by successive generations of leaders and the people of the two countries. The two countries established a Strategic Partnership in 2007, expanding in all areas of politics, defense, and security; economic cooperation; education and training, culture, and science and technology.

India considers Vietnam a pillar in its Look East policy and Vietnam always considers the Strategic Partnership with India a priority in its national foreign policy. Currently, Vietnam and India are two dynamic economies, growing strongly in Asia. These are important foundations for the relationship between the two countries to be closer, together sharing opportunities and potential for cooperation in all fields in the coming time.

To raise the economic, trade and investment cooperation between the two countries to a new level, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung suggested that both sides should make full use of existing bilateral and multilateral mechanisms to further promote trade and investment cooperation. That is, effectively implementing the cooperation agreements that the two sides have signed such as: Trade Agreement, Avoidance of double taxation, Encouragement and protection of investment, Consular, Tourism, Maritime trade, Aviation services...

At the same time, the two countries need to coordinate common interests in regional and international economic forums such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), establishing the ASEAN-India Free Trade Area, and negotiating the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said Vietnam is working with other members to achieve the goal of building the ASEAN Economic Community by 2015, forming a common market with a population of 600 million people and a gross domestic product (GDP) of nearly 2,500 billion USD with free movement of capital, goods, services, investment and labor. Vietnam is ready to act as a bridge for Indian businesses to penetrate the ASEAN market.

In addition to implementing eight signed free trade agreements, Vietnam is negotiating six new-generation free trade agreements with the European Union (EVFTA), the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), the Russia-Belarus-Kazakhstan Customs Union (VCUFTA), the Republic of Korea (VKFTA) and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

Overall, with the prospect of completing these free trade agreements in the next 1-2 years, Vietnam's legal and business environment will change fundamentally, becoming more favorable and more competitive. Vietnam will become an important link in a large economic network with 55 partners, including 15 members of the Group of 20 leading developed and emerging economies in the world (G-20). The Prime Minister hopes that Indian businesses will come to Vietnam to do business, invest and share the advantages of the Vietnamese market and opportunities to access the markets of Vietnam's partners.

In addition, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung also said that the economies of the two countries have many similarities, and at the same time have their own strengths, which can support and complement each other for mutual development. India can become a supplier of input materials for Vietnam in industries such as textiles, footwear, machinery manufacturing, etc., and at the same time create more favorable conditions for Vietnamese goods to penetrate the Indian market such as consumer goods, electronics, agricultural and aquatic products, wood products, etc.

Enterprises of the two countries will strengthen investment cooperation in areas of both sides' strengths such as information technology, biotechnology, machinery manufacturing, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, electricity, oil and gas, and agricultural and aquatic product processing. Vietnam hopes that leading Indian corporations such as TATA, IL&FS, ESSAR, and GMR will participate in developing infrastructure in Vietnam, while strengthening bilateral tourism cooperation, especially spiritual and cultural tourism. Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung affirmed that Vietnam always welcomes Indian enterprises to do business and invest in Vietnam and is committed to creating favorable conditions for their operations.

India is currently one of Vietnam's 10 largest trade partners. Seven years after the two countries established a Strategic Partnership, trade turnover has increased 3.4 times, reaching 5.24 billion USD last year. The two countries have set a target of increasing trade turnover to 7 billion USD next year and to 15 billion USD by 2020. Regarding investment, as of last September, India had 84 FDI projects in Vietnam with a total registered capital of 260 million USD.

With over 300 businesses from both countries attending the Vietnam - India Trade and Investment Forum, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung answered questions from Indian businesses regarding Vietnam's investment policies.

That same evening, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung received and met with officials and staff of the Vietnamese Embassy in India.

According to Vietnam+