In presence of 8 Egyptian and Vietnamese ministers, representatives of the Egyptian private sector and 41 major Vietnamese companies, the Egyptian-Vietnamese Business Forum (EVBF) has been held at MIIC premises. The Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Dr. Sahar Nasr and the Vietnamese Minister of Planning and Investment Mr. Nguyen Chi Dung inaugurated the forum, in presence of the Vietnamese Minister of Trade and Industry Mr. Tran Tuan, the Minister of Tourism Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, the Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation Dr. Ezz El-Din Abu Steit, the Minister of Health Dr. Hala Zayed, the Minister of Telecommunications and Information Technology Dr. Amr Talaat, the Minister of Trade and Industry Eng. Amr Nassar, Head of the Suez Canal Authority and the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) Adm. Mohab Mamesh, Deputy Minister of Housing for Following up of National Projects Eng. Khaled Abbas, Chairman of the National Company for Fishery & Aquaculture Maj. Gen. Hamdi Badin, GAFI's CEO Mr. Mohsen Adel, Chairman of the Egyptian Exchange (EGX) Mr. Mohammed Farid and GAFI's Vice- CEO Counselor Mohammed Abdel Wahab.
Dr. Nasr emphasized the significance of Egyptian- Vietnamese economic relations which represent a successful and outstanding example of economic relations that achieve common interests, particularly after President el-Sisi's visit to Vietnam in September 2017 as the first Egyptian presidential visit to Vietnam followed by the current visit. She indicated that EVBF aimed to complete convergence efforts exerted in the 5th session of the joint committee launched in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi in August 2017.
Moreover, Dr. Nasr mentioned that the Egyptian government implemented an inclusive economic reform program including legislative, monetary, financial and structural measures, asserting the continuity of the economic reform program to increase growth and improve the investment environment to render it more attractive.
The Egyptian government, noted Dr. Nasr, was implementing various major projects that would place Egypt on the global economic map, topped by the Suez Canal Axis, the Golden Triangle, the 1.5 Million Acre Project, and the New Administrative capital. This in addition to implementing several large power generation projects such as the solar power project in Benban. The Minister ascertained that Egypt was one of the top countries in terms of investment returns and was characterized by several investment advantages, besides being a gate to a large regional market in the Arab world and the African Continent.
Further, she called on the Vietnamese side to identify investment opportunities available in the Egyptian market to enter into new partnerships and enhance existing Vietnamese investments.
On his part, Dr. Abu Steit reiterated the Egyptian- Vietnamese agreement on cooperation and exchange of expertise in the areas of fisheries management and agricultural machinery industry, besides facilitating procedures of exporting and importing food industries and agricultural crops.
As for the Minister of Health, she welcomed cooperation with the Vietnamese side in several joint projects. She clarified that Egypt has been a leading country in the production of serums and vaccines for more than 115 years. She added that the Ministry of Health was ready to train the Vietnamese technicians and the medical team at laboratories approved by the World Health Organization (WHO).
In addition, Eng. Nassar proposed studying industrial integration opportunities between both countries, particularly the fields of agricultural mechanization, ready-made garments, medicines, and leather industry in a manner that would allow benefiting from commercial agreements of both countries, thereby reviving Egyptian exports to the ASEAN region and Vietnamese exports to Africa. Eng. Nassar agreed with the Vietnamese side to exchange expertise in the field of SMEs support.
Dr. Talaat, on his part, emphasized that the telecommunication and information technology sector was among the promising sectors that receive the state's concern and support for its vital role in motivating development processes, achieving prosperous and creating competitive economy through attracting global investments and creating distinguished job opportunities.
He also gave an overview of the investment opportunities available in the sector, calling for establishing joint ventures in the software development services. He referred to Egypt's top global ranking for its competitive advantages as a result of experienced professional cadres that can develop and provide services in the Arabic language.
Further, Dr. Talaat called on investors from both countries to cooperate in the field of engineering in order to increase capacities of service providers in both countries, establish partnerships in the field of integrated circuit design and technological solutions, meet the needs of electronic manufacturers, obtain optimum benefit from Egypt's geographic location and cooperate in establishing giant data centers.
On his part, the Vietnamese Minister of Trade and Industry laid emphasis on his country's keenness on benefiting from the historic convergence between leaders of both countries through signing investment and commercial agreements that cover all cooperation areas.
Mr. Tuan commended Egypt's economic reform experience and improvement of the investment environment, expecting that Egypt would be Vietnam's gate for investment and trade in Africa.
The Vietnamese Minister of Planning and Investment stated that EVBF was significant to familiarize Vietnamese investors with the Egyptian economy, which would open up new horizons for Vietnamese investments and help familiarize Egyptians with the giant Vietnamese market.
Mr. Dung announced his country's keenness on providing Egypt with its expertise in the field of fish farms so that Egypt can benefit from leather in local industries and export crocodile meat to East Asian countries. Vietnamese businessmen announced their interest in investing in Egypt, particularly in the field of textile, tourism, and gas extraction equipment industry.
A documentary on Egypt's achievements in the field of fish farming during recent years was screened. SCZone's Vice-Chairman Vice-Adm. Abdel Kader Darwish presented investment opportunities in the development axis. At the end of the forum, Dr. Nasr accompanies the Vietnamese delegation in a tour at the Investor Service Center (ISC) where the delegation was briefed on Egypt's investment map.
