The Da Nang People's Committee leaders have participated in a webinar entitled ‘Fostering investment cooperation between Viet Nam and the Middle East: potential, opportunities and new approaches’.

This is the first time the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has coordinated with the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) to organise an online seminar to discuss overseas investment trends and policies of countries in the Middle East, as well as Viet Nam’s potential and strengths, and seek ways to improve the efficiency of investment cooperation between the sides.

The event brought together more than 300 delegates from ministries, agencies, research institutes, representative offices, businesses, associations, investment funds and localities of Viet Nam and Middle East countries.

In a bid to improve the efficiency of mutual investment cooperation, many participants suggested that the two sides seek new, flexible, and more effective approaches like diversifying investment forms, setting up joint investment funds, completing the legal framework, intensifying connectivity, staying updated on investment incentives, enhancing business environment, and developing good investment attraction models on a larger scale.

Speaking at the event, Da Nang People's Committee Vice Chairman Ho Ky Minh said that the Middle East is a big market not only for oil and gas but also for financial resources and science and technology with many prestigious public investment funds. This is also a potential market in the fields of investment, trade and tourism.

Over the past time, the cooperation relationship between Da Nang and Middle Eastern countries has turned more and more substantive and effective with many positive results. However, the cooperative potential of the two sides have yet to be fully tap due to challenges such as a shortage of information about the market, business practices and investment encouragement and protection agreements.

He, therefore, urged national ministries and agencies to provide Da Nang with more information on Viet Nam's cooperation policies targeting the Middle East, hereby helping the city build up a specific and effective cooperation orientations with partners in this region.

Besides, there must be a need to promote coordination in organising online or face-to-face investment promotion seminars in order to enhance mutual understanding, as well as to strengthen the promotion of tourism image of Viet Nam, and Da Nang in particular, through cultural and diplomatic activities with the objective of stimulating travel demands.

Reporting by TRIEU TUNG – Translating by A.T