Seminar explores opportunities in Vietnam-Romania cooperation

Hanoi (VNA) – Opportunities for Vietnam-Romania cooperation was the focus of a seminar held by the Vietnamese Embassy in the European nation and the University of Pitesti in Pitesti city on December 17.

The event attracted nearly 100 participants, including officials of Pitesti city and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Arges county, representatives of Romanian businesses and the Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies, along with lecturers and students of the University of Pitesti.

Rector of the university Dumitru Chirlesan said the seminar aimed to help promote the two countries’ cooperation, especially as Romania will hold the rotational presidency of the EU Council in the first half of 2019.

He suggested fields that should be prioritised in bilateral cooperation, including education, investment, labour, and import-export. He noted that in education, the University of Pitesti would like to partner with Vietnamese universities.

At the seminar, Commercial Counsellor at the Vietnamese Embassy Hoang Anh Dung briefed participants about Vietnam’s accomplishments in all aspects, from economy, society, and culture to security, defence, and international integration.

He also introduced the country’s latest policies and regulations on foreign investment attraction, while highlighting its strong export items, including aquatic products.

Other speakers discussed benefits of the signing and ratification of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement, especially investment partnership chances; the impressive economic achievements since Vietnam shifted from a centrally-planned economy to a market economy; as well as the country’s incentives for foreign investors.

They highly valued the opportunities for cooperation in many spheres of mutual concern.

On this occasion, the embassy hosted a photography and document exhibition to introduce Vietnam’s land, culture, people, and development success over the last three decades of reform.

According to the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, bilateral trade between Vietnam and Romania has grown rapidly in recent years, but still stands at less than 300 million USD annually. Of this figure, about 80-90 million USD was from Vietnamese exports. 

As of the end of 2017, Romania poured 1.2 million USD into two projects in Vietnam, ranking 93rd out of the 125 countries and territories investing in the country. Meanwhile, there were 216 Vietnamese companies operating in Romania with a total registered capital of 2.1 million EUR (2.4 million USD). –VNA