Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on May 31 (local time) chaired a Vietnam-Algeria business dialogue in Algiers, which gathered nearly 300 enterprises from both countries.

Addressing the event, the PM stated that investment and trade cooperation potential between the two sides is abundant, expressing his belief that the dialogue will provide a chance to realise joint projects between the two countries in the coming time.

He said that Vietnam and Algeria have shared a sound traditional friendship and offered mutual support during the respective national struggles for independence and development. Progress has also been seen in their bilateral ties, he noted.

The Government leader also briefed participants on the socio-economic achievements of Vietnam, highlighting that the country is an attractive investment destination for foreign investors. Currently, 101 countries and territories are investing in Vietnam with 18,220 FDI projects worth about 260 billion USD.

According to a report by the UN Conference on Trade and Development last year, Vietnam ranked ninth in the world in terms of investment attractiveness, said the PM, adding that Vietnam is trying hard to improve its investment environment and design preferential policies that are more competitive than those of regional countries.

Vietnam is actively implementing comprehensive international integration policies, with a focus on economic integration, said the leader, noting that Vietnam is also working with other ASEAN countries in building an ASEAN Economic Community by the end of this year.

Vietnam has signed free trade agreements with the Republic of Korea and the Eurasia Economic Union, and is expecting to sign a Trans-Pacific Partnership soon, he said.

With a hope of reaching 14 free trade agreements in the coming time, Vietnam will become an important link in a massive economic chain with 55 partners including 15 G-20 members. By that time, Vietnam is expected to act as a key gateway for Algerian businesses to enter ASEAN member countries as well as the US and Asia-Pacific markets, he asserted.

The Vietnamese leader said the Vietnam is a world-leading producer and exporters of a number of products, including rice, coffee, garment and textile and electronics. The country is also strong in agricultural products, seafood, mechanics and oil and gas, he noted.

The PM revealed that Vietnam is striving to lure more environmentally-friendly FDI projects with high added value and high technology, especially in infrastructure building, renewable and green energy, processing, manufacturing, information technology, agriculture and high-quality service.

He called for Algerian enterprises’ cooperation in projects on mining, energy, telecommunications, IT, construction, consumer goods production and agriculture in Vietnam, while suggesting that Vietnamese firms seek investment opportunities and increase exports of Vietnamese products to Algeria while importing more Algerian oil and gas products.

PM Dung also voiced his hope that the Algerian Government and partners create more favourable conditions for Vietnamese firms in engaging in infrastructure and housing projects in Algeria as well as providing labourers to the market.

During the dialogue, the PM also answers question from Algerian firms about his Government’s investment policies in various fields.

Prime Minister begins Algeria visit

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung arrived at Houari Boumedienne Airport in Algiers capital city on May 31, beginning an official visit at the invitation of his Algerian counterpart Abdelmalek Sellal.

Following an official welcome ceremony chaired by Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal, the two Prime Ministers laid wreaths at the monument for fallen soldiers and visited the veterans’ museum in Algiers.

PM Nguyen Tan Dung is scheduled to call at the Algeria International Fair and attend the Vietnam-Algeria business dialogue the same day.

Algeria and Vietnam formed diplomatic ties on October 28, 1962. Vietnam opened an embassy in Algiers a month later, while Algeria set up its embassy in Hanoi in April 1968.

Vietnam’s major currency earners in Algerian trade include coffee, rice, phones and spare parts. In the first quarter of this year, exports to Algeria rose by 1 percent compared to last year to 68.6 million USD, including 35.27 million USD from phones and spare parts, 18.24 million USD from coffee and 2.6 million USD from rice. Algeria is currently Vietnam’s third largest African importer.

In terms of investment, the PetroVietnam is conducting oil exploration and exploitation missions in Algeria and is expected to start commercial operations this June. Nearly 1,200 Vietnamese workers work for contractors from Japan and China in the African country.

The two countries have signed dozens of agreements and memoranda of understanding on economic, sci-tech, trade, maritime transport, health care and education cooperation.

Algerian media: Vietnamese PM’s visit to enhance bilateral economic ties

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung’s official visit to Algeria will be a good chance to reinforce traditional friendship between the two nations and bolster their all-around cooperation, especially in economics, according to Algerian media.

The Algeria Press Service, the daily El Moudjahid and the daily Horizon on May 30 ran articles on the visit, which is from May 31-June 2.

The daily El Moudjahid highlighted the significance of PM Dung’s visit to Algeria in the context of the development of relations between Vietnam and the African country in recent years, especially in agriculture, construction, industry, energy and aquaculture.

It quoted Vietnamese Ambassador to Algeria Vu The Hiep as saying that the economic ties between Vietnam and Algeria has grown rapidly at 30 percent a year, with two-way trade in 2014 hitting 365 million USD.

Meanwhile, the daily Horizon praised Vietnam’s economic development and cited a report of the World Bank (WB), which forecasted that Vietnam’s GDP growth will be 6 percent this year, and increase to 6.2 percent in 2016.

The newspaper also mentioned the opinion of Sudhir Shetty, an expert from the WB, who underlined Vietnam’s economic stability, increasing foreign investment into the country’s manufacture industry, and its improvement of business climate. He also commented that when free trade agreements between Vietnam and its partners is signed, the country will be able to access more export markets.

VNA