The forum on policies and laws to promote economic, trade and investment ties between Vietnam and Iran was jointly held by the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Vietnamese Embassy in Iran, and the Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture, as part of National Assembly (NA) Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue’s ongoing official visit to Iran.
In his remarks, Hue said bilateral trade and investment activities between the two countries have been developing fruitfully and will be on par with their political and diplomatic ties.
He highlighted good sentiments and mutual respect between Vietnam and Iran, their multi-faceted cooperation, and collaboration and mutual support at multilateral forums.
The top legislator used this occasion to brief the participants on achievements Vietnam has recorded in reform and international integration over the past 37 years, with its gross domestic product (GDP) reaching 410 billion USD last year.
Vietnam is striving to reach a GDP growth rate of 6.5% this year, and keep inflation at around 4.5%, he added.
The country is working towards strategic breakthroughs in terms of economic institutions, workforce quality, science-technology, education-training, and infrastructure, especially transport infrastructure, the leader continued.
According to the NA Chairman, Vietnam’s export revenue was valued at 735 billion USD last year, becoming one of the 20 countries with the highest trade value in the world.
Vietnam has also been named among the world's top 20 host economies for foreign direct investment (FDI) by the United Nations (UN) with an inflow of 450 billion USD poured into 37,000 projects, Chairman Hue went on.
The leader suggested Vietnam and Iran remove obstacles to raise their bilateral trade in the near future and continue perfecting legal frameworks to facilitate the operations of their businesses and investors.
He urged working groups for trade exchange and payment to step up their operations, emphasising that the two countries have signed many agreements on double taxation avoidance, judicial assistance and customs, along with memoranda of understanding on technology and education.
Within the framework of the official visit, the two sides have reached more cooperation documents, covering collaboration between the legislative bodies, plant and animal quarantine, culture and education, among other fields.
The Vietnamese legislature has been making all-out efforts to consolidate the legal system, and untangle knots for foreign investors in the country, the NA Chairman affirmed, noting that the Vietnamese and Iranian legislatures will work together to supervise the governments’ implementation of the documents, especially those in economy, trade and investment.
He said the two countries’ chambers of commerce and industry should organise more cooperation activities and delegation exchanges to tighten connectivity between localities and enterprises.
He expressed his belief that the bilateral economic, trade and investment ties will grow further in the time ahead.
Speaking at the event, Chairman of the Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture Hossein Selahvarzi called for greater efforts by both sides to promote their economic and trade cooperation.
Talar Poshti, Chairman of Industries and Mine Committee of the Iranian Parliament, said Iran has put forth many programmes and plans to strengthen cooperation with Vietnam, stressing they will likely help promote the economic, trade and investment ties.
Meanwhile, Pour Ebrahimi, Chairman of the Iranian Parliament's Economic Committee, expressed his impressions on Vietnam’s socio-economic achievements, and affirmed that the Iranian government and people want to enhance economic and trade cooperation with the Southeast Asian nation.
He also noted hope that Chairman Hue’s visit will open up a new chapter for the bilateral economic and trade collaboration./.
