Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son and Saudi Minister Bandar bin Ibrahim Alkhorayef (Photo: Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia)

Minister Alkhorayef: It is my honor to be here in Vietnam representing my country Saudi Arabia. As you know, our two countries have had a good relationship for many years, and this was enhanced by the visit of the Prime Minister of Vietnam to Saudi Arabia and his meeting with the Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman. The two leaders have a good relationship. They’re very keen to help the private sector take advantage of opportunities. What we have done since then is to establish a Saudi and Vietnamese committee and elevate the committee to the ministerial level. We are also working to create a Saudi-Vietnamese Business Council. The idea is to create a good ecosystem that will allow the two countries to share opportunities and ideas for collaboration. I feel very positive because there’s so much we can do together.

Bao Tram: What areas do you consider most promising for cooperation, and how soon can we expect joint projects to begin?

Minister Alkhorayef: First of all, I was very pleased to see a lot of businessmen and the business community showing great interest. There are many areas, but I’ll explain two components. One is existing businesses. Saudi Arabia is growing very fast, so we have a lot of projects in infrastructure, in housing, in mega projects, and this will create a lot of opportunities for construction companies, construction material companies, and contractors. This is an area where there's great demand and very rapid growth. And then we have various sectors that are part of our vision, like mining. There’s a huge opportunity in mining, from upstream mining to processing and services. We also have tourism. Vietnam has been a very successful tourist destination. Saudi Arabia is starting to develop tourism as part of its Vision 2030. We also have renewable projects. Renewables are key for both countries. Agriculture, food processing, and manufacturing – automotive, machinery, equipment, advanced manufacturing – these are areas of collaboration, and, of course, we don't want to limit ourselves to these areas. We’re open to discussing any other opportunities.

Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar bin Ibrahim Alkhorayef at the VCCI networking event in Hanoi on September 30, 2025 (Photo: Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia)

Bao Tram: Vietnam is emerging as a hub for electronics and high-tech manufacturing. How do you think about potential Saudi investment or partnership with Vietnam in these fields?

Minister Alkhorayef: Definitely. One of the biggest items we import from Vietnam is electronics and smartphones. There is a growing demand in Saudi, and we see a lot of opportunities to expand there. One of the things we’ve focused on in our industrial strategy is advanced manufacturing and technology. So there’s a lot of emphasis on that, and this requires the manufacturing of chips, and the manufacturing of many electronic components that would be used in different systems.

Bao Tram:  What about the next chapter of Saudi–Vietnam relations?

Minister Alkhorayef: I think the most important thing now is follow-up. It's very important that we have a close relation with our counterpart in the government, the Ministry of Trade and Industry, but also with the private sector. They need to create the council as quickly as possible. We recommended also that delegations of investors and companies come to Saudi and vice versa. We need to show quick results so people will get excited and the momentum will continue to grow.

Bao Tram:  Thank you very much for sharing your perspectives with us. We look forward to stronger cooperation between our two countries.

Minister Alkhorayef: Thank you.