Hanoi (VNA) – Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh on September21 encouraged enterprises from Vietnam and Poland to prepare investment plansin fields of mutual interests, such as the environment, agriculture, and foodprocessing, in order to take advantage of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement(EVFTA) which will be signed soon.

In his speech at the Vietnam-Poland Economic Cooperation seminar held as partof his visit to the Central European country, Binh underlined that theGovernment encourages Vietnamese firms to land investment in the fields of IT andconsumption goods in Poland to break into Polish and other European markets.

Laying stress on the traditional friendship and cooperation between the twocountries, he said that Poland is currently the largest trade partner ofVietnam in Central Europe, with two-way trade hitting a record of 1.05 billionUSD in 2017.

There are already many Vietnamese businesses carrying out projects inPoland, he said, adding that the most noteworthy, worth 3 million USD, isinvested by dairy giant Vinamilk.

Regarding the Vietnamese economic situation, he said that the economy grew 6.81percent in 2017, the highest level recorded during the 2011-2017 period. Binhalso introduced Vietnam’s favourable business climate, potential, internationalintegration, and modern-day reform progress in the context of the FourthIndustrial Revolution to the seminar.

Polish participants and businesses expressed their impression at Vietnam’ssocio-economic achievement over the past few years. They said that they areinterested in investment opportunities in Vietnam, while speaking highly ofVietnam’s important position in their business network in ASEAN and theAsia-Pacific.

They lauded concerted efforts made by the Vietnamese Government in creating awelcoming business and investment environment and affirmed their determinationto expand business in the country to capitalise on opportunities brought by theEVFTA.

Meanwhile, representatives from some Polish universities said that they want toenhance student exchanges, and recommended that Polish authorities createfavourable conditions for Vietnamese students wanting to pursue studies in thecountry.

On the occasion, Deputy PM Binh held meeting with the Vietnamese Embassy andrepresentatives from the Vietnamese community in the host nation, during whichhe hailed their efforts in citizen protection work and contributions towardsconsolidating the relations between Vietnam and Poland. He said that thecommunity, enterprises in particular, should serve as a bridge to furthercooperation and friendship between the two countries. –VNA