On Thursday, Da Nang People's Committee Vice Chairman Ho Ky Minh played host to a group from the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic, led by its Deputy Minister Vladimir Bartl.

Deputy Minister Vladimir Bartl (left) and Vice Chairman Minh at the reception (Photo: drt.danang.vn)

In attendance at the event were the Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Viet Nam Vitezslav Grepl, and representatives from some of Czech businesses.

Vice Chairman Minh remarked that the bilateral cooperative relationship with Czech localities has yet to fully tap the great potentials and expectations of the two sides. He, therefore, hoped that this visit would help to further bilateral cooperative relations on trade, tourism, and investment promotion activities in the years ahead.

Deputy Minister Vladimir Bartl said that the focus will be on boosting cooperation with Viet Nam on such aspects as trade, electronics, tourism, education, healthcare, hi-tech, science, and research. He noted that a Czech business is operating in Da Nang, offering jobs for more than 200 employees in total.

The foreign diplomat said that Czech businesses are now showing keen interest in investing into Da Nang in various aspects. They are light-load truck assembly, and other projects to build a paediatrics hospital and to develop an urban traffic system connecting Da Nang with Quang Nam Province’s Hoi An City.

In reply, Vice Chairman Minh vowed that the city authorities would create the most favourable conditions for Czech businesses to soon deploy their above-mentioned projects in the city.

An overview of the Czech-Viet Nam Business Seminar (Photo: ceecvn.org)

Also on Thursday, the Czech-Viet Nam Business Seminar took place in Da Nang. Organised by the city’s branch of the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), the event attracted a large number of Czech enterprises who are seeking for investment opportunities in the city, and in Central Viet Nam as a whole.

Over recent years, Viet Nam and the Czech Republic have become important and active countries which have a substantial impact on trade and investment activities in the region, as well as the European and ASEAN economic communities. Most notably, the Viet Nam-EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), which is expected to come into effect within this year, will open up many trade and investment opportunities for Viet Nam and the Czech Republic, and the EU as a whole.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic has selected Viet Nam as one of its 12 strategic export markets by 2020.

Currently, a total of over 65,000 Vietnamese nationals are living in the Czech Republic, and they will play an important role in fostering bilateral trade and investment cooperation between the two countries.

Viet Nam is now exporting various types of products to the Czech Republic, including coffee, pepper, fruits, tea, rubber, seafood, footwear and handicrafts. Meanwhile, the country is importing such products as electronics, chemical substance, pharmacies, and mechanics, from the Czech Republic.