Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc held talks with his United Arab Emirates (UAE) counterpart Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi on December 16 during which both sides agreed to further beef up bilateral partnership in all fields, especially trade, investment, financial-banking and labour cooperation.

The two sides concurred to increase the exchange of delegations at all levels while affirming their determination to raise two-way trade to a more impressive figure. They also vowed to continue close coordination and mutual support at international multilateral forums.

Deputy PM Phuc said that Vietnam takes the UAE as one of its top partners in the Middle East, suggesting the country encourage its businesses to invest more in Vietnam in such areas as energy, hospitability-tourism, finance-banking, and oil and gas.

He asked the UAE to help Vietnam build a labour training centre which aims to improve skills for Vietnamese workers who work in the Middle East market.

Vietnam will create all favourable conditions for UAE investors to explore business and investment opportunities in the country, he affirmed.

For his part, the UAE Deputy PM said his country attaches much importance to developing ties with Vietnam . He confirmed that he will direct relevant ministries and agencies to effectively realise all reached agreements and back joint projects in economy, finance-banking and labour in the future.

UAE businesses wish to invest in Vietnam’s agriculture, he said, encouraging Vietnamese producers to increase the export of agricultural products to the UAE.

Currently, the UAE is one of the leading economic partners of Vietnam in the Middle East and North Africa, with two-way trade hitting 4.46 billion USD in 2013, a rise of 80 percent over the previous year and 63 times higher that that of 2002.

Vietnam, UAE enjoy growing partnership: Deputy PM

Vietnam and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have seen remarkable progress in bilateral partnership over the past two decades, especially in politics, diplomacy, economics and culture, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has stated.

Vietnam, a big market and a top exporter of many agricultural products, is a promising and safe destination for regional and international investors, including those from the UAE, he said at a gala dinner in Abu Dhabi as part of his ongoing visit to the country.

At the same time, the UAE has become one of the leading economic partners of Vietnam in Middle East-North Africa, with two-way trade hitting 4.46 billion USD in 2013, a rise of 80 percent over the previous year and 63 times higher that that of 2002, he noted.

Currently, many UAE giants have been present in Vietnam, including DP World, IPIC, Emirates Investment Gate, Mubadala, Borouge, Sama Dubai, Dubai Holdings and Limitless Tamouh.

By November this year, UAE investors had had eight projects in Vietnam with a total registered capital of 135.1 million USD.

According to the Deputy PM, the “Vietnam Days in the UAE” was held for the first time as part of joint efforts of the two governments in enhancing cultural exchanges and cooperation as well as people-to-people contacts.

Participants at the gala dinner coming from more than 40 diplomatic corps in the UAE had a chance to enjoy Vietnamese food and traditional music. They were also introduced to the country’s famous landscapes and heritages as well as its unique culture.

On the sidelines of the event, Phuc met with the Office of Tony Blair (OTB)’s resident advisor in the UAE, Andreas Baumgartner, to discuss cooperation outcomes between the Vietnamese Government and the OTB over the past year and future orientations.

He said Vietnam will step up the restructuring of State-owned enterprises and the development of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), while creating favourable conditions for the private sector.

Baumgartner pledged that the OTB will serve as a bridge for the UAE business community and Vietnamese SMEs and help the Southeast Asian country in developing support industries.

Deputy PM Phuc also had meetings with a number of UAE investors, including CEO of AVI Group, and representatives of the Vietnamese community here.

VNA/VNN