Hanoi (VNA) - All fields of thepartnership between Vietnam and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region ofChina, especially economy, trade and investment, have been given due attention byleaders on both sides, Tran Thanh Huan, the outgoing Vietnamese Consul Generalin Hong Kong, said in an interview with the Vietnam News Agency.

He noted that together with the Vietnam-ChinaComprehensive Strategic Partnership, the cooperation between localities in Vietnamand Hong Kong has been fruitful in recent years in all fields, especiallyeconomy and trade.

Economic-trade cooperation has long been a bright spotin ties between localities and Hong Kong, Huan said, citing figures from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council thatshow that two-way trade rose from 16.21 billion USD in 2016 to 21.2 billion USDin 2019.

In the first nine months of 2020, despite the impactof COVID-19, the figure still reached 17.1 billion USD, up 17.5 percentcompared to the same period last year. Vietnam surpassed Thailand to become thethird-largest trade partner of Hong Kong in ASEAN.

In terms of investment, 2019 marked a breakthrough inHong Kong’s investment throughout Vietnam. It led all countries and territories,with 257 projects and a total capital of 5.3 billion USD. Hong Kong has alsobecome the fifth-largest investor in Vietnam. In the first 10 months of this year, 179new projects from Hong Kong worth 1.37 billion USD were registered.

Hong Kong now has 1,918 projects in Vietnam with a totalregistered capital of nearly 25 billion USD.

Huan said cooperation in other fields such as culture,tourism and people-to-people exchanges has also seen progress. The Hong KongMuseum of History plans to set aside a space to display documents and items relatingPresident Ho Chi Minh’s time in Hong Kong.

Vietnam has become an attractive destination fortourists from Hong Kong. Before COVID-19, 20 flights were conducted each day betweenHong Kong and five localities in Vietnam. Vietnam welcomed more than 50,000 tourists from HongKong last year.

This year, with Vietnam taking on the role of the ASEANChair and the ASEAN-Hong Kong Free Trade Agreement taking effect, newopportunities have opened up for the further promotion of trade and investmentcooperation between Hong Kong and Vietnam as well as ASEAN. Vietnam is seen asone of the most attractive destinations for Hong Kong investors seeking to moveinvestment flows into Southeast Asia.

Huan said the 71-million-strong Hong Kong market, withGDP of 1.6 trillion USD, offers numerous opportunities for Vietnamese firms. Heproposed each side strive to overcome the existing difficulties, including theimpact of COVID-19, to quickly reach the “new normal” and resume flights tofacilitate trade and tourism. Vietnam should to fully prepare to welcome newcapital from Hong Kong, he said.

The diplomat said he is confident that the cooperationbetween Vietnamese localities and Hong Kong will continue to reap rewards in thetime to come./.