Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh will lead a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation to attend the ASEAN-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit and visit Saudi Arabia from October 18-20. Photo: Nguyen Hong

What is the significance of this ASEAN-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit in promoting and creating a framework for cooperation between ASEAN and GCC?

Cooperation between GCC and ASEAN began in 1990 when there was the first official contact between ASEAN and GCC. Since then, ASEAN-GCC Foreign Ministers often meet on the sidelines of United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) sessions in New York.

The first ASEAN-GCC Summit was held in June 2009 in Manama, Bahrain, adopting the ASEAN-GCC Joint Vision.

The two sides agreed to conduct research and make recommendations on ASEAN-GCC relations in free trade areas, economic, cultural, educational, information cooperation, and development.

The ASEAN–GCC Summit takes place in the context that the roles of ASEAN and GCC are increasingly being affirmed in the region and the world. Relations between ASEAN and GCC are also strengthened, all six members of the GCC have signed documents to join the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC).

This is also the first summit between senior leaders of the two blocs, an important milestone in the relationship between ASEAN and GCC.

The expected documents will create basis and momentum to promote relations between the two blocs, especially in areas of cooperation with great potential such as economics, trade, culture, and people-to-people exchanges.

What is the potential for cooperation between ASEAN and GCC, especially economic cooperation in the context that the GCC considers cooperation with Eastern countries as the focus in the coming time?

With favorable political-diplomatic relations between the two blocs and on the basis of existing economic, trade, and investment relations, I think that ASEAN and GCC have a lot of potential to develop economic relations and labor cooperation.

Countries in the GCC (UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, and Kuwait) have high economic growth rates, social changes, positive development, young populations (over 50% of the population is under 25 years old - according to 2020 statistics), the proportion of elderly people is low.

The GCC region's total population nearly doubled in 20 years, from 26.2 million in 1995 to 56.4 million in 2021, largely due to a sharp increase in migrant workers entering the region.

According to 2021 statistics, the total population of ASEAN countries is estimated at 666.19 million people, nearly 12 times the population of GCC countries. ASEAN has abundant human resources, contributing significantly to the workforce in GCC countries, and is also a large market for export products from GCC countries.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Dang Xuan Dung. Photo: Tuan Anh

GCC with an area of 3.35 million square kilometers, smaller than the area of ASEAN countries (4.22 million km2), is mainly desert. They encounter difficulties in agricultural production, output does not meet demand. Therefore, essential goods are mainly imported.

Economic cooperation between the GCC and ASEAN in recent years developed more broadly in many areas such as investment, trade, and human resources. ASEAN countries export to the GCC agricultural products, food, machinery and equipment, vehicles, and spare parts while importing liquefied petroleum gas, oil, and chemicals.

Some ASEAN countries, including Thailand, have investment projects in GCC countries and vice versa. Currently, in Vietnam, Saudi Arabia has seven investment projects, and Kuwait has two investment projects with about more than US$3 billion. UAE investors are also interested in Vietnam and currently have 3 to 4 projects with a total registered capital of about US$74 million.

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang and delegates attended the Vietnam-Saudi Arabia Business Forum on September 11. Photo: Tuan Anh

What is the significance of this visit by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in promoting bilateral cooperation between Vietnam and Saudi Arabia?

In recent years, the relationship between Vietnam and Saudi Arabia had many remarkable developments in many fields such as politics, trade, and tourism.

The two countries have many things in common such as their growing role in the region, open foreign policies and friendly relations with other countries, socio-economic development policies, and plans that focus on people and businesses.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's business trip to Saudi Arabia this time is our highest-level activity in Saudi Arabia since the visit of former President Nguyen Minh Triet (April 2010). The visit takes place in the context of the two countries preparing to celebrate the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2024.

Therefore, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's business trip will certainly create new momentum to promote relations between the two countries.

The Prime Minister's activities focus on promoting investment, and economic and labor relations. Within the framework of the business trip, a number of Memoranda of Understanding will be signed, contributing to strengthening bilateral cooperation in specific fields.

Ministries, branches, and businesses from both sides will have opportunities to work and connect with each other effectively and substantively, especially through the business forum. I believe that the Prime Minister's visit will open up many new aspects of cooperation.

After the Vietnam-Saudi Arabia Business Forum was successfully held in mid-September, what do you expect about strong changes in bilateral economic cooperation?

Saudi Arabia is our leading economic partner in the Middle East region. In the first seven months of 2023, we exported over US$608.2 million of products to Saudi Arabia, an increase of more than 60% over the same period in 2022, and imported over US$956.5 million, a decrease of 11.4%.

Another good thing is that the value of the goods trade deficit decreased from more than US$699 million to more than US$348 million, showing that Vietnamese products are increasingly asserting their position in this market.

The Vietnam-Saudi Arabia Business Forum last September was a notable milestone in bilateral economic and trade relations when for the first time, the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce sent the largest-ever Saudi business delegation to our country to promote trade and seek investment opportunities.

After the forum, a number of businesses connected directly to discuss and cooperate in exporting specific products such as garments, decorative crafts, and furniture. A number of travel companies and resort tourism services also signed cooperation agreements.

I expect a lot from trade cooperation between the two sides. Specific agreements help increase the export turnover of agricultural products, seafood, food, garments, furniture, and handicrafts into the market, especially superior technology products.

Currently, there are Vietnamese businesses directly coming to the area to advertise, promote, and demonstrate high-tech products, designed and manufactured by Vietnamese engineers and technologies, contributing to creating new highlights about the capacity and potential of Vietnam's economy in the current Industry 4.0.

The Vietnamese Embassy in Saudi Arabia will make efforts to connect and support the localities and businesses of the two countries in implementing agreements and contracts, promoting bilateral economic cooperation.

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