Phu Yen (VNA) - The south-central coastal province of Phu Yen is willing to expand cooperationwith foreign partners and promote the application of new technologies towards sustainabledevelopment, Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Tran Huu The hassaid.

The made the statement at a conference on development partnerships held in theprovincial capital, Tuy Hoa city, on April 28, expressing a wish that foreign partnerswill consider Phu Yen a “laboratory” for new ideas.

The locality is calling for investment in the fields of tourism, agriculture, hospitaldevelopment, and human resources training, he said.

According to Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Planning and InvestmentCao Anh Son, Phu Yen attracted 230 investment projects worth 31 trillion VND (1.35billion USD), including 10 foreign-invested projects worth 71.5 million USD intotal.

In the first quarter of 2021, amid the complex developments of the COVID-19 pandemic,the provincial authorities granted investment licences to five projects withtotal capital of over 1.9 trillion VND.

At the conference, Italian Consul General in HCM City Dante Brand said Italian enterprisesare looking to enhance cooperation and share their experience with local farmers,thus helping bring local farm produce to the European market.

According to Australian Consul General in HCM City Julianne Cowley, apart from supportinginnovative ideas in agriculture and animal husbandry, Australia is also supportingPhu Yen in water treatment and sustainable aquaculture development projects.

Australian businesses are interested in green and clean projects, she said, notingthat there is great potential for Australian firms to become reliable partners ofPhu Yen in the future.

Meanwhile, Honorary Consul of Mexico in HCMCity, Vu Minh Anh, said Phu Yen can tap its advantages from the wild and naturalbeauty of its heritage sites and landscapes to further promote tourism development,becoming a unique destination to attract more investors.

Jointly hosted by the provincial People’s Committee and the HCM City Departmentof Foreign Affairs, the conference aimed to introduce Phu Yen’s potential and strengthsas well as opportunities for promoting investment and development cooperation betweenthe province and foreign partners, especially in infrastructure development, tourism,and agro-forestry-aquaculture exports./.