Honorary Consuls to propose measures to attract investment
Thanks to the close relationship with the host country and the affection and understanding about Viet Nam, Viet Nam's Honorary Consuls abroad could come up with many measures to promote trade and investment between both countries.
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| How to attract and maintain effective foreign investment? (Photo: Vietnamese Culture) |
The resolution of the 13th National Party Congress points to the need to “build a comprehensive and modern diplomacy with focus on three pillars of Party diplomacy, State diplomacy and people-to-people diplomacy”.
To implement the tasks, the document underlines: “Combining national strength with the power of the age; raising the spirit of independence, self-determination, proactive and active integration and enhancing the efficiency of international cooperation; maximizing internal resources and taking advantage of external resources among those human resources is the most important”.
Honorary Consuls are considered as “significant human resources” and "extended arms" to help the representative mission fulfill its duties pf economic diplomacy, cultural diplomacy and citizen protection.
In the early stage, the Honorary Consuls’ work focused on the representation and protection of the interests of citizens of the sending state. However, along with the development of international relations, trade and transportation between continents, Honorary Consuls play an increasingly important role in promoting trade as well as connecting businesses of Viet Nam and host countries.
The beautiful image of the Vietnamese country, people and culture has also been promoted around the world by Honorary Consulates, thus creating favourable conditions to boost trade and attract investment.
Attracting sustainable FDI
The pandemic COVID-19 has caused massive disruptions to flows of foreign direct investment (FDI) for two years.
The fourth wave of COVID-19 pandemic in Viet Nam with the appearance of Delta varian reversed achievements in prevention and control of the disease and impacted negatively on economic development, business and investment activities of foreign enterprises in Viet Nam.
In this context, the question is how to attract and maintain effective FDI projects. Simultaneously, Viet Nam needs to find a way to attract investment in clean energy for sustainable development while climate change poses increasingly severe risks.
According to Dr. Philipp Rösler, former Vice-Chancellor and Federal Minister of Economics and Technology of Germany, Viet Nam’s honorary consul to Switzerland, Viet Nam has gained great achievements in attracting FDI during the past years. However, it is necessary for the country to avoid the same mistakes made by other countries in their development process.
Honorary Consuls and Vietnamese agencies can organize events/ roundtables, set up cooperation channels at universities for foreign investors to know more about opportunities of cooperation with Viet Nam, said Philipp Rösler.
"It will be very helpful if foreign investors can see the country, people and investment condition of Viet Nam with their own eyes”, he said.
In his opinion, the exchange of information between the Honorary Consul and the Embassy is extremely significant, because the Honorary Consul is the person having the best understanding of the cooperation potential.
Mr. Nama Subbiah Setty Srinivasa Murthy, Honorary Consul of Viet Nam in Karnataka (India) stated that Bangalore city, the capital of the Karnataka state, was the forefront of information technology and information technology related services.
Bangalore is also known as the "Silicon Valley'' of India and Asia. Therefore, Indian investors can definitely transfer their knowledge to Viet Nam for mutual benefit as the digital needs of Viet Nam are also on the fast track, he said.
Honorary Consul of Viet Nam in Kampala (Uganda), Mr. King Ceasar Augustus Muleng, emphasized that Viet Nam and African countries have enormous potential for investment cooperation in processing minerals, high-quality wood and abundant resources.The Government of Uganda has an established private sector whose investment incentives are shared and clarified and that could help the people of Viet Nam to invest in Uganda.
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| Ambassador Pham Sanh Chau and Mr. Nama Subbiah Setty Srinivasa Murthy, Honorary Consul of Viet Nam in Karnataka. (Source: Vietnam Embassy in India) |
Paving the way for Vietnamese goods to reach potential market
Honorary Consuls are not only the ones who can come up with information on the potential for cooperation, but they also have lots of experience of organizing events and improving the efficiency of trade promotion.
According to Mr. Michel de Grand Ry, Honorary Consul of Viet Nam in Antwerp (Belgium), the trade and investment relations between Viet Nam and Belgium have improved considerably since the EU-Viet Nam free trade agreement (EVFTA) took effect in August 2020.
Currently, Viet Nam is the largest coffee exporter to Belgium. In order to continue to promote trade in the future, not only coffee but also other commodities, the exchange of information between the Honorary Consul and the Ambassador is very important, he said.
In addition, Honorary Consuls also point out some potential products to promote trade between Viet Nam and the host country.
The Honorary Consul in Kampala (Uganda) affirmed that Africa was a large and potential market for Viet Nam. Many Vietnamese products are popular in Africa, such as leather and footwear, electronic items and high-quality furniture.
Regarding agriculture, African countries are importing rice from Viet Nam and taking advantage of seeds from Viet Nam to create added value.
Honorary Consul in India Nama Subbiah Setty Srinivasa Murthy evaluated that pepper, coffee, dragon fruit and all other spices could bring a lot of business between the two regions.
The open and substantive opinions and experiences of Honorary Consular Officers are valuable contributions to expanding the network of honorary consuls of Viet Nam abroad and enhancing the network’s operation in the time ahead.
Honorary Consuls have affection and understanding of both Viet Nam and the host country. Therefore, they can share their views on the fields in which Viet Nam can boost cooperation with other countries.
Vietnamese localities have reached significant development in terms of people, economic potential and international position. Therefore, they are now focusing more on international cooperation.
Through the system of Vietnam's representative offices and Honorary Consuls abroad, economic diplomacy with the aim of connecting Vietnamese localities with international partners will be carried out more efficiently and effectively, thereby helping Viet Nam strengthen international integration and cooperation, serving socio-economic development and contributing to the successful implementation of the "dual-goals" set by the Government.
