The Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) and the Ministry of Economy of Slovakia should increase cooperative activities and delegation exchanges to enhance trade and investment collaboration between the two countries, said a senior official.

Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh (R) and his Slovakian Minister of Economy Peter Ziga.

Vietnamese Minister of the Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh made the remark while holding a reception for Slovakian Minister of Economy Peter Ziga in Ho Chi Minh City on November 25.

The robust development in bilateral ties have opened up opportunities and potentials for the two countries to step up cooperative activities for mutual benefits in economy, trade and investment, Anh said, adding that although two-way trade revenue has increased through years, it still lags behind expectations of both sides.

He underlined that Vietnamese and Slovakian enterprises are still holding great potentials to cooperate in the fields of information and technology, mining, electronics, manufacturing technology and tourism.

For his part, Ziga affirmed that Slovakia always cherishes ties with Vietnam and sees the country as a leading partner in Asia, expressing his hope that both sides will reach positive agreements during his visit, making cooperation programmes in economy and trade more effective.

He suggested that the two ministries should organise more business forums as well as trade and investment promotion conferences while asked leaders of the MoIT to support Slovakian enterprises to study the Vietnamese market.

In the past years, Vietnam and Slovakia enjoy a stable increase in two-way trade revenue. Vietnam mainly exported footwear, garments and seafood and imported machines, tools and steel spare parts from the European country.

By the end of October 2017, Slovakia had nine investment projects worth 250 million USD in Vietnam, ranking 36th out of 128 countries and territories investing in Vietnam. Meanwhile, Vietnamese IT company FPT has one investment project valued at nearly 500,000 USD in Slovakia.

HCM City seeks stronger trade, investment ties with Slovakia

Chairman of the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City Nguyen Thanh Phong (R) shakes hands with Peter Pellegrini, Slovakian Deputy Prime Minister for Investments and Informatization 

Chairman of the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City Nguyen Thanh Phong on November 25 received Peter Pellegrini, Slovakian Deputy Prime Minister for Investments and Informatization, who is paying an official visit to Vietnam from November 25-29.

At the meeting, Phong said Pellegrini’s visit will enhance the traditional cooperation between the two countries in general and between HCM City and Slovakian localities in particular.

As the traditional cooperation between Vietnam and Slovakia has been consolidated, relations between HCM City and Slovakian localities, including Kosice city, are also being enhanced, he said.

HCM City will create optimal conditions for Slovakian companies to promote trade, investment cooperation and do long-term business in fields that the city has high demand such as chemical industry, smart solutions, sustainable development, food industry and health, Phong added.

He asked the Slovakian Deputy PM to encourage Slovakian firms to foster trade and investment cooperation with Vietnam and HCM City in particular, contributing to the sustainable development of bilateral relations between Vietnam and Slovakia.

Lauding the traditional friendship, Pellegrini said Vietnam and Slovakia, as well as HCM City and Slovakian localities, hold huge potentials to strengthen cooperation, especially in economy, trade and investment.

He thanked the city for its support for the construction of a Vietnam-Slovakia friendship building, a symbol for the two countries’ sound traditional friendship, and also called for the city’s businesses to explore Slovakia’s investment climate as a gateway to enter the European market.

VNA