Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam holdsaspirations to become a country with prosperous development, inferior to noother countries’ in the world, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said at theVietnam Business Summit in Hanoi on September 13.

The summit, themed “Vietnam – We Mean Business:Connect and Innovate”, was part of the World Economic Forum on ASEAN 2018. Itattracted more than 1,200 entrepreneurs and investors from around the world,along with representatives of foreign business associations, embassies, andinternational organisations in Vietnam.

Co-chairing the event with WEF President BorgeBrende, PM Phuc said only 21 percent of Vietnam’s small- and medium-sizedenterprises (SMEs) have taken part in the global value chains, much lower thanthe 46 percent in other ASEAN nations.

Although many foreign studies have pointed outVietnam’s success in global supply chains, generally speaking, Vietnamesebusinesses have only joined these chains in fields such as assembling orproduct packaging, which are links with low value that lack sustainability insupply chains.

Input materials made by domestic manufacturerscurrently account for less than 27 percent of the total input value of FDIfirms, while the remaining is purchased from other FDI companies or imported,he noted.

Facing that fact, Vietnam aims to move to ahigher position in global value chains and strengthen the connectivity betweenVietnamese and FDI businesses, PM Phuc said, adding that it is becoming one ofthe workshops of the world and a pivotal spot for trans-national firms tosupply products and services around the globe.

The development of many local privateenterprises shows that the business environment in Vietnam is completely ableto nurture big companies capable of competing against and cooperating withinternational ones, he said.

He noted that by actively integrating into theworld, the country is now a member of the World Trade Organisation and 12 freetrade agreements, including the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement forTrans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement, and theRegional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

From here, investors have a chance to accessalmost all major markets in the world, especially ASEAN. Vietnam plays asignificant role of a gateway and has one of the best geopolitical positions inglobal supply chains that not every country has access to, he emphasised.

The country has had trade relations with over 200countries and territories. It has also taken the lead in exporting manyagricultural products like rice, pepper, coffee, cashew nut, basa fish, andshrimp. PM Phuc expressed his belief that Vietnam’s agriculture potential wouldbe fully tapped and could be a big magnet for investment and cooperation.

He also said Vietnam needs to exert more efforts,foster more innovations, and make stronger reforms to improve its economy’sdevelopment level and narrow the gap with regional countries. He affirmed thatthe successes of businesses in the nation are also part of his Government’ssuccesses.

At the summit, PM Phuc and WEF President BorgeBrende also addressed issues that participants were interested in, such as theCPTPP, Industry 4.0, e-Government, and renewable energy. –VNA