(MPI) - Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Quoc Phuong welcomed Minister of Investment of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Mohamed Alsuwaidi in Hanoi on February 8 to discuss measures to enhance bilateral cooperation between Vietnam and UAE.

Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Quoc Phuong meets with UAE Minister of Investment Mohamed Alsuwaidi. Photo: MPI

Deputy Minister Phuong spoke highly of Alsuwaidi’s visit to Vietnam as well as having major UAE corporations to explore investment opportunities here. Vietnam highly values for further strengthening cooperation with the UAE, the only comprehensive partner in the Middle East, especially in investment cooperation, he added.

UAE Minister of Investment Alsuwaidi emphasised the importance of Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s official visit to the UAE. He said that his current mission to Vietnam is to materialize cooperation opportunities and further explore Vietnam’s investment environment and priority sectors in the coming period.

He expressed the UAE’s particular interest in such sectors as high technology (artificial intelligence - AI), energy cooperation (oil-gas and renewable energy), and infrastructure investments (highways and seaports). The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between the two nations will open a new era, bringing the Vietnam-UAE relationship into more substantive and effective cooperation, especially in investment in areas that match the orientations and strategies of both sides, he went on.

The UAE Ministry of Investment is committed to closely coordinate with Vietnamese agencies and businesses to promote investment and enhance bilateral trade turnover, therby deepening and enhancing the Vietnam-UAE cooperation relationship, Alsuwaidi said.

Deputy Minister Phuong agreed Alsuwaidi with and said the abovementioned sectors are also Vietnam's priorities, particularly in science - technology and new technologies such as AI, semiconductors.

Regarding science, technology, innovation and digital transformation, he said that Vietnam will continue to improve its institutions and policy mechanisms to encourage more investors seek investment opportunities in these areas.

The deputy minister also noted that infrastructure development is also one of Vietnam's three strategic breakthroughs for socio-economic development in the coming period, asking for the UAE investors and investment funds' continued coordination to come up with specific proposals.

Discussing Vietnam's priorities in building international and regional financial centers, Deputy Minister Phuong urged the UAE, with its capacity to operate top regional financial centers, to share experiences and connect investors to participate more deeply in Vietnam's financial center projects. The Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) is ready to implement and materialize cooperation with the UAE Ministry of Investment, and commits to accompanying and facilitating foreign investors, including UAE investors, in expanding and developing business investment activities, ensuring compliance with legal regulations./.

Bao Linh

Ministry of Planning and Investment