Luxembourg (VNA) – Prime Minister PhamMinh Chinh attended a business forum as part of his visit to Luxembourg onDecember 9 (local time).

Luxembourg is running 58 projects worth over 2.6billion USD in Vietnam, ranking 17th out of 141 countries and territoriesinvesting in the Southeast Asian nation, according to the forum’s organisers.

Luxembourg is also the third largest European investorin Vietnam, with capital mainly poured into information-communications, andreal estate.

The two-way trade reached 96 million USD in 2019,110.7 million USD in 2020 and 181.6 million USD last year, a rise of 64%.

The forum was intended to identify investmentpotential and opportunities of each side, thus enabling businesses, investorsand international organisations to make investment decisions.

In his remarks, PM Chinh said Vietnam is buildingthree pillars of society –socialist democracy, a law-governed socialist Stateand a socialist-oriented market economy, while working on three strategicbreakthroughs – institutions, human resources and infrastructure.

In the process, Vietnam needs resources and externalsupport to develop its capital, stock, bond and credit markets, the PMstressed, expressing his hope that Luxembourg will share its experience inthese fields.

He assured investors from Europe in general andLuxembourg in particular because the Vietnamese Government has been doing itsbest to improve the investment and business environment, and protect investorsjust like Vietnamese citizens.

Accordingto the leader, Vietnam has signed a total of 16 free trade agreements (FTAs)with 64 big markets worldwide, along with many deals on investment protectionand double taxation avoidance.

PM Chinh said Vietnam is in need of high-skilledlaboured and those that hold university and post-graduate degrees, noting thathe and Luxembourg PM Xavier Bettel had agreed to work together to improvehigher education in the Southeast Asian nation.

With the good bilateral relationship, especially intrade and investment, and the big numbers of small-and medium-sized enterprisesin both countries, Vietnam and Luxembourg have favourable conditions to boosttheir cooperation, he said.

Vietnam has regarded Luxembourg as a bridge to the EUand Vietnam will be a bridge for Luxembourg to penetrate into the ASEAN market,he noted.

The PM said he hopes that the two countries’ investorswill share experience and collaborate to deal with obstacles emerging duringtheir cooperation.

Carlo Thelen, Director General of the LuxembourgChamber of Commerce, said Vietnam is the 9th biggest trade partnerof Luxembourg outside the EU and has the highest economic growth in ASEAN alongwith potential for the building of production and manufacturing centres.

Luxembourg firms strongly believe that therelationship between the two countries will grow further in the time ahead, hesaid./.