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Jun 26, 2020 / 18:01

Effective EVFTA, EVIPA to bring about more opportunities for Hanoi: AHK

Marko Walde, chief representative of the Delegation of German Industry and Commerce in Vietnam, spoke with Hanoitimes about opportunities from a trade deal with the EU and what needs to be done to make use of it.

I would express my respects to Hanoi’s encouragements in terms of trade and investment promotion. As the capital of Vietnam, Hanoi with a good infrastructure basis, completed industrial zones and convenient transportation, is one of the centers of economy, industry, trade, and services. 

  Marko Walde, chief representative of the Delegation of German Industry and Commerce in Vietnam. Photo: AHK.

The city’s implementation of its “one stop shop” mechanism is also evidence of its dedication to bring in a clearer and more transparent investment environment. By completing other infrastructure projects, especially the metro lines, they city would increase their attractiveness tremendously.     

From our point of view, for the long run, Vietnam and Hanoi should establish a stable and reliable legal framework and economic policy to support businesses, local and international ones. In particular, Hanoi should develop a practical oriented dual vocational training and education projects in order to gain high skilled labor force and support local businesses in improving their technology competence as well as their competitive advantages. 

Hanoi should continue improving general infrastructure as well as conducting a suitable platform for direct experience exchanges and direct dialogue between authorities and businesses as well as between local and international ones.

As I mentioned before, for the purposes of sustainable development and attracting more high-value-added foreign direct investment, the legal and regulatory framework of many sectors and the economic policies should be improved further and be consistent. 

The other challenges are the lack of qualified workers in Vietnam, the undeveloped supporting industries, especially the weakness of the domestic supply chain. These matters might cause problems in the long term and Vietnam should solve it quickly. We hope that in the long run, once the EVFTA and EVIPA come into force, they will bring more opportunities for Hanoi and other provinces. 

I strongly believe that there will be many FDI flows for high-valued projects into Vietnam, in the long term, including from Germany. German investors would bring their well-known technology in management and training to this country, allow more value-added production, less waste of material and resources.

At the upcoming “Hanoi 2020 – Investment and Development Cooperation” conference, the city's leaders will issue licenses for 116 projects with registered capital of a combined VND339.67 trillion (US$14.66 billion), according to the municipal People’s Committee.

The event, scheduled to take place at the National Convention Center on June 27, is set to attract up to 1,850 delegates, including senior government officials, 29 ambassadors and diplomatic officers, representatives from eight international organizations, foreign experts, among others.