On the morning of April 02, in Melbourne city,
Victoria state, Australia, comrade Hoang Nghia Hieu - Deputy Secretary of the
Provincial Party Committee and a delegation from Nghe An province had a meeting
with Australian enterprises and the Vietnamese
Businessmen Association in Australia.
Joining the delegation were comrades: Nguyen Thi Thu
Huong - Member of the Standing Committee, Head of Commission for Mass
Mobilization of Provincial Party Committee; Nguyen Van De - Vice Chairman of the
Provincial People's Committee (PPC) and leaders of relevant departments and
branches.
Comrade Hoang Nghia Hieu introduces
industrial products and OCOP products of Nghe An province to the delegates
Vietnamese
Ambassador to Australia Pham Hung Tam attended the meeting and spoke via the
online system. Attending the meeting were representatives of 40 Vietnamese enterprises
and entrepreneurs in Australia.
Speaking at
the meeting, Ambassador Pham Hung Tam highly appreciated the working visit of
leaders of Nghe An province. The visit took place after Prime Minister Pham Minh
Chinh's official visit to Australia and attendance at the 50-year
Australia-ASEAN Partnership Conference, upgrading the Viet Nam-Australia
comprehensive strategic partnership. The visit of the Nghe An province
delegation is a practical activity to implement this relationship.
Ambassador
Pham Hung Tam affirmed that Nghe An has rich natural conditions, synchronous
infrastructure, and solar and wind resources to develop renewable energy. Melbourne
is a commercial center, with a dynamic start-up community, advanced technology,
etc. Nghe An and Australia have potential for economic cooperation, especially
trade, investment, and tourism. The two countries' newly upgraded partnership
will open up opportunities for the two sides to expand cooperative
relationships. The Vietnamese Ambassador to Australia also proposed that entrepreneurs
and enterprises in Melbourne come to Nghe An to learn about investing, etc.
At the
meeting, the Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee expressed his
pleasure to visit the Vietnamese
Businessmen Association in Australia
and work with the Association's members, and thanked the Association for
its effective support in connecting and thoughtfully arranging the group's
activities in Melbourne.
Comrade
Hoang Nghia Hieu informed the Vietnamese Businessmen Association in Australia
about the economic and social situation of Nghe An province in recent times,
especially the positive results in attracting foreign investment. Implementing
the foreign policy of the Party and State, Nghe An in recent years has actively
and proactively implemented the international integration strategy, promoting
cooperative activities with countries around the world. However, the province's
major partners are still Northeast Asian and ASEAN countries. For Australia,
the province currently cooperates mainly on trade. A few cooperation projects
in the field of investment.
In 2023,
export turnover to Australia reached more than 21 million USD, the main export
items are cement, steel sheets of all kinds, shoes, processed fruits and fruit
juice, paving stones, etc.; import turnover from Australia reached nearly 20
million USD, of which the main imported items are beef, animal feed, and raw
materials for production.
Regarding
FDI investment, in the province there were previously 2 projects with
Australian investment capital with a capital of 16.5 million USD, but now the
investor of Mavin Ausfeed Animal Feed Production Company, an Australian
investor, has withdrawn capital and transferred it to Viet Nam.
Regarding
Nghe An's investment in Australia: Starting from 2019, TH Group has pioneered
paving the way for large-scale agricultural investment in Australia by
acquiring, taking over and developing 3 beef cattle stations (farm areas) in
Northern and Western Australia with total investment capital is 130 million
AUD. On Australia's Tamania island, TH Group is growing grapes to produce wine
and will build resorts in the future to attract tourists, first of all
international students.
Recently,
Nghe An province also organized a number of investment promotion seminars in
the states of Victoria (Melbourne), South Australia (Adelaide) and New South
Wales (Sydney) of Australia (2017).
It can be
said that the cooperative relationship between Nghe An and Australia has had
certain results, however the results are still limited and not commensurate
with the potential of both sides.
Comrade
Hoang Nghia Hieu hoped that the Vietnamese Businessmen Association in Australia
will continue to promote its core role in connecting and encouraging Vietnamese
enterprises and entrepreneurs in Australia to promote trade and investment
cooperation between enterprises of the two countries, creating a bridge to
introduce enterprises to learn about and invest in Nghe An province, especially
in areas such as: High-tech industry; marine economy, marine urban areas;
tourism, training, finance - banking; high-tech agriculture; agricultural and
aquatic product processing.
At the
meeting, Vice Chairman of the PPC Nguyen Van De introduced some of Nghe An
province's potential to Australian enterprises and affirmed that the province
will be determined to devote adequate resources to best meet the requirements
of investors, including investors from Australia. In particular, striving to
well implement the "5 readiness" to welcome enterprises to invest
successfully, sustainably, and long-term in Nghe An.
On behalf of
the delegation, the Vice Chairman of the PPC answered and clarified questions
and content that Australian enterprises were interested in learning about Nghe
An.
Mr. Tran Ba
Phuc - Chairman of the Vietnamese Businessmen Association in Australia said:
The Vietnamese community is very happy when the country's position is
increasingly enhanced. In particular,
with the visit of the Prime Minister, Viet Nam and Australia have upgraded
diplomatic relations to the highest level. This is also a favorable condition
for Vietnamese enterprises to do business in Australia, promoting bilateral
trade and investment cooperation.
Personally,
Mr. Phuc affirmed that, although he has been away from his country for nearly
half a century, he is still very proud to be a Vietnamese who has never stopped
thinking about his roots and the land of Viet Nam. Mr. Phuc also said that the
community of about 6 million Vietnamese people around the world should
strengthen solidarity and look towards the country and homeland, becoming an
inseparable part of the nation. Mr. Tran
Ba Phuc is currently a member of the Central Committee of the Viet Nam
Fatherland Front, Vice Chairman of the Overseas
Vietnamese Businessmen Association, Vice Chairman of the For the Beloved
Hoang Sa and Truong Sa Club.
Since 2010,
Mr. Phuc established the Vietnamese Business Association in Australia (VBAA). The
Association is recognized by both the Australian and Vietnamese Governments and
since its inception has become a safe bridge for Vietnamese businessmen in
Australia with domestic enterprises.
To date,
there are about 500 members, including about 100 domestic members. The
Association has actively supported Vietnamese enterprises exporting to
Australia; promptly reflected the development situation of the homeland and the
country; promoted trade, displayed, introduced, and brought Vietnamese goods to
Australian supermarkets.
Mr. Phuc
pledged that the Association will continue to play a good role as a bridge to
promote trade, investment and business between Nghe An and Australia and he
believed that economic cooperation between Nghe An and Australia will prosper
in the coming time, especially when the two countries have established a
comprehensive strategic partnership.
Representative of enterprises speaks
At the
meeting, Australian enterprises spoke and expressed their interest in Nghe An
in fields such as agriculture (producing and processing livestock, vegetables,
finding partners to import Nghe An's peanuts). A number of enterprises want to
cooperate in real estate, finance, and information technology.
On this
occasion, the Nghe An Province delegation opened a booth for OCOP Nghe An
products at the Trade Promotion Center under the Vietnamese Businessmen
Association in Australia.
Nghe An
possesses a large number of OCOP products and abundant potential. Besides
focusing on improving product quality, the province has been making efforts to
connect to expand markets and find outlets for regional specialty OCOP.
Many OCOP
products of Nghe An province are currently exported to international markets
such as Duc Phong rattan and bamboo products (5 stars) have been exported to
markets in countries such as France, Germany, etc.; Dien Thai (Dien Chau)
coriander has been exported to the Korean and Japanese markets; Van Phan (Dien
Chau) fish sauce products exported to Japan; eel (NAP) products exported to
Australia and Japan; Bien Quynh seafood
products exported to the US, etc.
The opening
of the OCOP Nghe An products booth this time by the Provincial Delegation is an
activity to promote and introduce Nghe An products to Australian enterprises
and consumers. There are more than 20 items displayed at the booth including:
teas from Pu Mat Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company, lotus tea from Uncle
Hometown’ Lotus Cooperative, brocade of Hoa Tien Cooperative, bamboo and rattan
handicrafts of Duc Phong Co., Ltd., Fine arts products of Tra Lan Cooperative,
etc.
On this
occasion, the Provincial Investment and Trade Promotion Center and the
Vietnamese Businessmen Association in Australia signed a Memorandum of
Understanding on investment, trade and tourism cooperation in the presence of
Australian enterprises.
The visit
and work of the Nghe An province delegation took place immediately after the
visit of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in early March this year, in the
context that after more than 50 years of establishing diplomacy, the
relationship between the two countries has made great progress, achieving
comprehensive results. In particular, during the visit, the Prime Ministers of
the two countries announced the upgrade of Viet Nam - Australia relations to a
comprehensive strategic partnership.
On April 4 and 5, a
delegation of Nghe An province led by comrade Hoang Nghia Hieu - Deputy
Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee will visit and work with the
Vietnamese Consulate General in Sydney and the Australian business community.
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Source: Nghe An Newspaper (April 02, 2024)