The statement was made by Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister, Vuong Dinh Hue, at the Vietnam-Brazil Investment and Trade Forum, which was held in the Brazilian state’s capital city of Sao Paulo on July 3.
Hue is on an official visit to the Latin American country in order to boost bilateral relations. As a continuation of his activities in Brazil, the visiting senior Vietnamese official attended the forum yesterday and met with several of Brazil's leading businesses.
The forum was jointly held by the Sao Paulo Chamber of Commerce and the Embassy of Vietnam in Brazil, attracting more than 100 leading businesses from both countries.
Speaking at the opening, Alencar Burti, President of the Sao Paulo Chamber of Commerce, said that this is an opportunity for Vietnam to emerge as a centre for attracting investment from businesses in Sao Paulo. He also urged local enterprises to further strengthen their trade and investment relations with their Vietnamese counterparts.
Deputy PM Hue said the two countries, though far apart, share many similarities and potential cooperation that can be exploited. Vietnam, with a high economic growth rate for many years, will be the gateway for Brazil to access ASEAN and other free markets of which Vietnam is a member. In return, Brazil will be the bridge for Vietnamese goods to enter the Common Market of the South (MECOSUR) market.
He added that Vietnam could become the leading importer for Brazilian corn and soybeans and it would consider importing Brazilian beef, while Brazil will also boost imports of Vietnamese coffee, cat fish and shrimp. Vietnam is also willing to cooperate with Brazil in the field of agricultural machinery manufacturing, safe agricultural production, tourism, education and training, and pharmaceuticals.
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Deputy PM, Vuong Dinh Hue, meets with Rubens Barbosa, President of the Upper Council of Foreign Trade from the Federation of Industries of the State of Sao Paulo (FIESP), in Sao Paulo, Brazil, July 3. (Photo: VGP)
During his visit to Sao Paolo, Hue received a number of leaders from several leading Brazilian companies and associations, such as the Federation of Industries of the State of Sao Paulo (FIESP), the Brazilian Association for the Fisheries Promotion (ABRAPES), the Brazilian Association of Fish Industries (ABIPESCA), Brazilian aerospace conglomerate Embraer, Brazilian defence industry group Avibras and Eurofarma pharmaceutical company.
At the meetings, the Vietnamese Deputy PM announced the important agreements reached during his visit, affirming the political will of the leaders from the two countries in promoting their bilateral relations. The positive feedback of Brazil in reviewing the status of the market economy for Vietnam in 2018 and the further development of the legal framework are very favourable conditions for trade between the two countries, he stressed.
Brazilian businesses expressed their special interest in the Vietnamese market and opportunities for importing new fishery products such as shrimp and tuna from Vietnam to Brazil, as well as exporting Brazilian soybeans and beef to Vietnam. The expressed their wish to seek partners to import aircraft of less than 150 seats, exchange experience in producing and distributing ethanol and cooperate in exporting or jointly producing a number of defence commodities, while considering expanding their cooperation in new fields, such as hi-tech industry, banking and finance, education and pharmaceuticals.
He also said that Brazilian enterprises could participate in the restructuring of Vietnamese State-owned enterprises or invest in production facilities in Vietnam in order to penetrate the Vietnamese and ASEAN markets or export back to Brazil. In return, the Government of Vietnam will also encourage Vietnamese businesses to seek investment and production partners in Brazil to penetrate the vast Brazilian market and thereby enter the MERCOSUR market.
On the occasion, the Deputy PM welcomed the Brazilian associations and businesses to send delegations to Vietnam to explore its market, inviting them to attend the World Economic Forum on ASEAN which is scheduled to be held in Hanoi this September.
