On May 16, 2024, in the capital Astana, on the occasion of the 11th of the Vietnam-Kazakhstan Intergovernmental Committee on Economic, Trade, Scientific and Technical Cooperation, the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Kazakh Ministry of Trade and Integration jointly organized a conference on trade and investment cooperation between the two countries.

Attending the conference, the Vietnamese delegation included Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien, Vietnamese Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Kazakhstan Pham Thai Nhu Mai, representatives of the Office of the Government of Vietnam and representatives of units under the Ministry of Industry and Trade and representatives of a number of ministries and branches.

On the Kazakh side, there was Deputy Minister of Trade and International Integration of Kazakhstan Kairat Torebayev, representatives of the Kazakhstan Trade Promotion Company (Ministry of Trade and International Integration), and a number of Kazakstan businesses.

At the event.

Encouraging investment

In his opening speech, Kazakh Deputy Minister of Trade and Integration Kairat Torebayev highly appreciated the two Ministries coordinating to organize the conference, this is a great opportunity for the two Ministries and the business communities to establish strong business connections. He also added that Southeast Asia is an attractive and promising investment and trade destination for Kazakhstan. In 2023, the value of trade between Kazakhstan and East Asian countries grew strongly, such as 8% increase with China, 30% with Hong Kong (China), 20% with the Republic of Korea, and 46% with Vietnam.

Deputy Minister Kairat Torebayev emphasized that Vietnam has been one of Kazakhstan’s important partners in Asia. In 2023, the value of bilateral trade reached USD 979.2 million, an increase of 85.4% compared to 2022, with Kazakhstan’s exports to Vietnam growing by 43.7%, reaching USD 180.2 million.

“Kazakhstan’s exports to Vietnam continue to grow. In the first quarter of 2024, Kazakhstan’s exports to Vietnam reached USD 62.5 million, a year-on-year increase of 4.8%”, he emphasized.

According to the Deputy Minister, in 2023, during the official visit of Kazakh President K. Tokayev to Vietnam, the two countries’ leaders signed a Joint Action Plan to accelerate the development of economic and trade cooperation in the period of 2023-2025. This Joint Action Plan serves as a guideline for the two sides to implement measures to further promote bilateral economic and trade cooperation in such areas as trade, investment, and agriculture. The Intergovernmental Committee mechanism has also been creating conditions for the two sides to strengthen cooperation.

Notably, he emphasized that aviation is a promising area of cooperation. Currently, there are 13 flights per week between Kazakhstan and Vietnam, helping accelerate import-export procedures, allowing increased transportation of high-value goods from Kazakhstan to Vietnam and vice versa.

In his speech, Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien said that Vietnam and Kazakhstan enjoy a traditional, friendly relationship dating back to the Soviet era, and reestablished their relations in 1992. Both countries hold important positions and have a positive influence in the region and globally.

Minister Nguyen Hong Dien at the event.

Minister Nguyen Hong Dien emphasized that Vietnam can serve as a gateway for Kazakh businesses to penetrate the ASEAN region and Asia-Pacific. Meanwhile, Kazakhstan can be a gateway for Vietnamese businesses to enter Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Kazakhstan also has the potential to provide raw materials and minerals for Vietnam.

Regarding Vietnam’s economic development, Minister Nguyen Hong Dien stated that Vietnam has emerged from war and embargo over the past nearly four decades. From a small economy with a gross domestic product (GDP) of over USD 100 billion, Vietnam has become the world’s 39th largest economy with a GDP of over USD 440 billion.

Not only that, Vietnam is a country with a high and stable economic growth rate; it is an economy with a high degree of openness, with the import-export value nearly doubling its GDP. Vietnam’s annual foreign trade value is over USD 730 billion. At the same time, Vietnam maintains trade relations with most countries belonging to the United Nations and has 16 free trade agreements with most developed countries and major economies in the world.

Notably, over the past eight years, Vietnam has been ranked as one of the world’s top 20 countries in terms of foreign trade, and one of the 15 most attractive destinations for foreign investors, with accumulated foreign investment totaling nearly USD 470 billion from 141 countries and territories.

Vietnam also has a large population of over 100 million people, with 65% being in the working age. The country has 54 ethnic groups with very unique cultural identities. Vietnam has beautiful scenery, four-season climate, and many world-famous landscapes and natural wonders.

Minister Nguyen Hong Dien emphasized that Vietnam is called the “factory of the world” and, therefore, needs to cooperate with other countries to have a stable supply of fuels and materials for production and export, as well as to cooperate in scientific research and technology application, innovation, training, and provision of quality human resources.

Foreign enterprises investing in Vietnam can benefit from the country’s open, preferential policies and its young, skilled and hardworking workforce. They can not only exploit the Vietnamese market with over 100 million people, but also have the opportunity to access the ASEAN market with 600 million people, as well as the countries with which Vietnam has signed free trade agreements, with a population of 5-6 billion.

Also at the event, a large number of Vietnamese and Kazakh businesses discussed areas of mutual interest.

Affirming important role of trade promotion agencies

Director of the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency (Vietrade) under the MoIT Vu Ba Phu commented that in order to increase import-export turnover and investment between the two countries, the role of agencies related to trade and investment is extremely important.

“The Ministry of Industry and Trade has the Vietnam Trade Office in the Russian Federation concurrently in Kazakhstan, in charge of monitoring the market, looking for bilateral import/export/investment opportunities, and supporting businesses of the two countries to connect and exchange. information, looking for partners.... At the same time, the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam is researching the establishment of the Vietnam Trade Office in Kazakhstan to monitor the market and connect cooperation opportunities more closely”, Phu said.

Dr. Nguyen Van Hoi, Director of the Institute of Industrial Strategy and Policy Research also affirmed that Vietnam has built and perfected mechanisms and policies on industry and trade in the direction of increasingly creating more favorable conditions for foreign investors in general and investors from Bulgaria in particular in production and business activities in Vietnam. Vietnam's industrial and trade mechanisms and policies are increasingly open, transparent and consistent with bilateral and multilateral international commitments.

At the conference, Director of the Trade Remedies Authority of Vietnam Trinh Anh Tuan said so far, Vietnam and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) have not conducted any trade defense investigation and are making great efforts so that products and goods of both sides are easily accessible to consumers.

As for competition law issues, the Vietnam Competition Commission hoped to further promote cooperation with relevant agencies of the Republic of Kazakhstan to share information, experience, thereby enhancing a fair and effective competitive market environment and promoting trade and investment opportunities for businesses of both countries.

Also at the event, a large number of Vietnamese and Kazakh businesses exchanged opinions and discussed many areas of mutual interest, such as aviation, tourism, electric vehicles, renewable energy and technology.

To conclude the conference, Minister Nguyen Hong Dien highly appreciated the recommendations and proposals of representatives of relevant agencies and the business communities of both Vietnam and Kazakhstan. The minister said there’s still ample room for bilateral cooperation; therefore, the functional agencies and business associations of the two sides need to strengthen cooperation and mutual support for further development.

“If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together” - Minister Nguyen Hong Dien shared and committed that the Minister of Industry and Trade of Vietnam and the Ministry of Trade and Integration of Kazakhstan are willing to receive information, and listen to feedback from businesses of the two countries, thereby reviewing and proposing amendments to policies, mechanisms and efforts to create a more open business environment for the two countries’ businesses, for a common goal of strengthening economic cooperation and increasing Vietnam - Kazakhstan trade revenue.

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