National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue speaks at the Vietnam-Austria Business Forum in Vienna, Austria, September 6, 2021. (Photo: VNA)

National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue also asked Austria to help Vietnam further access the EU market. 

He said Vietnam enjoyed an economic growth rate of 2.91% in 2020, one of the highest in the world, and has become the third largest economy in Southeast Asia with a GDP of more than 350 billion USD. The IMF forecast that Vietnam’s economy will grow 6.5% in 2021, higher than the global average of 6%, he said. 

Chairman Hue called on Austrian businesses to increase investment and trade cooperation with their Vietnamese counterparts to fully tap the two sides’ potential and strength.

“Vietnam advocates drawing foreign investment selectively with quality, efficiency, high technology and environment protection as key criteria,” Chairman Hue noted. 

“Priority will also be given to hi-tech, innovation, and R&D projects that facilitate Vietnamese businesses’ participation in the value chain, boost the digital economy, and contribute to Vietnam’s sustainable socio-economic development.”

He described Austria as one of Vietnam’s important export markets and now one of the five biggest importers of Vietnamese goods in the European Union. Two-way trade hit 3.2 billion USD in 2020, he said.

Austria is investing in 37 projects worth nearly 150 million USD in Vietnam, mostly in manufacturing, processing and science-technology.

Mr. Hue asked Austrian firms to support the Austrian Government’s supply of vaccines and medical equipment to aid Vietnam’s fight against COVID-19 pandemic.

Austrian businesses hailed Vietnam as an important investment market in Southeast Asia and wished to hold more business-to-business meetings to discuss more in detail.

Representatives from the Austrian Chamber of Commerce also pledged to help Vietnam attract quality investors from the European nation.