Publicat pe 15/04/2019

Bucharest, April 15^th: The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Romania (CCIR), in partnership with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, organized the Romanian-Vietnam Business Forum on Monday, April 15^th, at CCIR Business Center.

The event took place in the margin of the official visit to Bucharest of E.S. Mister. Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Prime Minister of R.S. Vietnam accompanied by a delegation of businessmen.

A Memorandum of Understanding between the Romanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam was signed at the Business Forum in the presence of Romanian and Vietnamese government officials.

The Romanian-Vietnam Business Forum debated the potential for developing bilateral economic relations through governmental support and CCIR’s involvement in building stable partnerships between Romanian and Vietnamese companies by capitalizing on the networking potential of the cameral system.

President of CCIR, Mr. Mihai Daraban stressed that bilateral trade levels, according to statistical figures, are below expectations: “last year, the total value of bilateral imports and exports amounted to 185 million Euros. (…). Currently, 225 Vietnamese companies are active in Romania, with a subscribed capital of 2.04 million Euros. Vietnamese businessmen seem to be more in Romania than Romanians in Vietnam, we want to focus on this issue in the near future. We encourage Romanian investors to consider Vietnam as a solid partner for economic relations to the European market”

At the same time, Mihai Daraban referred to the Vietnamese labor force that headed for our country: “We are clearly interested in the Vietnamese market, Romanian economic agents have understood that they have to overcome the EU’s barriers to internationalization. At the same time, I want to stress that we are glad that the Vietnamese labor force has chosen Romania. We find Vietnamese citizens in many sectors of economic activity in Romania, such as civil, industrial and shipbuilding”.

“Vietnam is one of the most dynamic emerging markets that, in 2018, saw an impressive growth rate of 7.1%. The International Monetary Fund’s projections for the next five years indicate that this trend remains. At the same time, Romania has enjoyed robust growth in recent years, and in 2019, according to the European Commission’s forecasts, it will rank fourth among EU countries. These promising perspectives are a sound ground for deepening economic cooperation between Romania and Vietnam”, said Viorel Ştefan, Deputy Prime Minister of the Romanian Government.

Minister for the Business, Commerce and Entrepreneurship Environment, Ștefan Radu Oprea, recalled the visit he made last November in Vietnam at the invitation of E.S. Prime Minister Mr. Nguyen Xuan Phuc: “In the autumn we concluded that bilateral trade is at a level that does not represent us and can increase very much, because the potential of the two economies is very high. This format, in which we are today, with a strong representation of the Vietnamese business environment, gives me confidence that these numbers of bilateral exchanges can increase greatly. In addition, as Romania holds the EU Council Presidency, we face a challenge that we have turned into a priority. I am referring to the signing of the Free Trade Agreements and the signing of the Investment Agreement. We want these things to happen during our presidency. ”

“The trade relations between Romania and Vietnam have a history of 70 years. Over time, exchanges of goods or services between the two countries have steadily increased. But we are convinced that there is a much greater potential for development. In this respect, together with the Prime Minister of Romania, we have today set up in Bucharest a joint commission to work on improving the economic relations between the two countries, in the very moment when a trade agreement between Vietnam and the European Union. We hope this will happen during Romania’s mandate. I want to assure Romanian investors that Vietnam has a very stable socio-political environment, so there are all conditions for business development, “said E.S. Mister. Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Prime Minister of R.S. Vietnam

“Vietnam is a member of the Association of South East Asian Nations, a very large market with a potential for developing business. Thus, the Romanian companies that will invest in Vietnam will have access to this market, with all the prerequisites for doing a sustainable business. Together with the Bucharest authorities, we agreed to establish procedures regarding the necessary conditions for the export of Romanian products of animal origin, honey and apiculture products on the Vietnamese market. Also today, the Memorandum of Understanding on Agriculture was signed between the ministries in Romania and Vietnam, “said Vu Tien Loc, President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Background:

The value of bilateral trade between Romania and Vietnam was at the end of last year at 181.76 million Euros, according to data provided by ONRC. A total of 225 Vietnamese companies are active in Romania, with a total subscribed capital of 2.04 million Euros. Vietnam is one of Asia’s main Asian economic partners, and is also one of the top ASEAN trading partners.