Standing Vice Chairman of the Da Nang People's Committee Ho Ky Minh held a reception on Tuesday for British Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City Alexandra Smith.

Standing Vice Chairman of the Da Nang People's Committee Ho Ky Minh (right) presenting a souvenir to Consul General Alexandra Smith. Photo: T.P

At the meeting, Vice Chairman Minh informed his guest about the socio-economic situation, potential, and development orientation of Da Nang in the coming time.

He added that the city has been concentrating on attracting foreign investment in the semiconductors and artificial intelligence (AI) industries, and the establishment of international financial centre.

He stated Da Nang has been allowed by the National Assembly of Viet Nam to implement a number of specific policies on financial management, state budget; establish the Da Nang Free Trade Zone; and invest in the fields of semiconductor, AI, information and communication, science and technology management, and innovation.

Mr. Minh took the opportunity to ask for help from the British diplomat to assist the city with developing semiconductor, AI and international financial centre, as well as introduce more potential British tech companies to work at the Da Nang Software Park No. 2 which is expected to operate in January 2025.

He also expressed his desire that Ms. Alexandra Smith will introduce local students to English training programmes because Da Nang is in need of high-quality human resources with English proficiency.

For her part, Consul General Alexandra Smith thanked the city's leader for his warm welcome, expressing her impression on the city’s rapid growth in recent times.

She noted that Da Nang's orientation in developing semiconductor and AI, and building an international financial centre was very similar to the UK’s. She pledged that the UK is willing to share experiences and support Da Nang and Viet Nam as a whole in developing these aspects in a breakthrough way.

She added that the UK government wished to boost the bilateral cooperation with Da Nang in the fields of free trade, infrastructure and education. She vowed to support Da Nang in promoting the living and investment environment for British businesses.

In the first 9 months of 2024, Da Nang's export turnover to the UK is estimated at US$ 28 million, whilst its import turnover from the UK is estimated at US$ 800,000.

The main export items are textile products, frozen seafood, fishing rods, and handicrafts. The main import items are sewing materials, machinery and equipment.

To date, Da Nang has attracted 18 UK-invested projects with a total capital of US$ 1.4 million.

Reporting by THANH PHUONG - Translating by M.DUNG, P.TRA