On the morning of March 19, in Hanoi, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chaired a meeting with the foreign direct investment (FDI) business community and the annual Vietnam Business Forum 2024 (VBF 2024) with the theme “Pioneering FDI Enterprises Implementing Green Growth Strategy”.
The Prime Minister affirmed: The Government of Vietnam always listens, shares with partners, investors, and contributes to a peaceful, stable, cooperative, and developing environment, working, sharing, winning, and developing together – Photo: VGP / Nhat Bac
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“We have confidence in FDI businesses”
Speaking at the event, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh highly appreciated the organization of the Forum and Conference; thanking the companionship, support, and sharing of international friends, development partners, and foreign investors in the context of many difficulties and challenges in the past time, contributing to the achievements and common results of Vietnam.
Listening to all opinions, the Prime Minister appreciates, values the understanding, intelligence, sense of responsibility, and frankness of the delegates in assessing the situation, analyzing the causes, and proposing recommendations; assigning the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Government Office to synthesize, study, absorb opinions to build, improve, and submit the Prime Minister’s Directive on Green Growth.
The Prime Minister believes that the speeches of the delegates show the spirit of “three co-operations” including: Listening and understanding between businesses with the State and the people; Sharing vision and action to develop the economy in general and green development in particular; Working, sharing, winning, and developing together.
Evaluating the overall situation in the world and the region as changing rapidly and unpredictably, with more difficulties, challenges than opportunities and advantages, with risks of differentiation, division, crises of confidence, energy crisis, food crisis, the Prime Minister expressed hopes that the situation will be more favorable in the time ahead, at the same time affirming that Vietnam is not subjective, negligent but always calm, steadfast to be ready to cope with any situation, difficulties, challenges that may arise.
At the same time, the Government of Vietnam always listens, shares with partners, investors, and contributes to a peaceful, stable, cooperative, and developing environment, working, sharing, winning, and developing together. “I have not turned down any business association if I am present in Hanoi,” the Prime Minister affirmed.
“We have confidence in FDI businesses. The second belief is that Vietnam has established diplomatic relations with more than 193 countries, including comprehensive strategic partners or strategic partners with all 5 permanent member countries of the United Nations Security Council, 7 G7 member countries, 16 G20 member countries; signed 16 FTAs with more than 60 countries. The third is that we have confidence in unity, unanimity in the Party, the political system, the people, national solidarity, international solidarity. The fourth is confidence in the tradition of the nation is the more pressure it puts on the more effort. The fifth confidence is the effort of the enterprise, the people, and the State to overcome difficulties, challenges,” the Prime Minister shared.
The Prime Minister said that in the context of many difficulties, challenges, thanks to the efforts of the entire political system, the business community, and the people under the leadership of the Party, Vietnam’s socio-economic situation continues to recover positively and achieve many important results in various fields, which is a bright spot of the global economy.
Many prestigious international organizations have highly appreciated the results and prospects of Vietnam’s economy. ADB forecasts Vietnam’s growth in 2024 to be 6%, HSBC Bank predicts 6.3%; Standard Chartered Bank predicts 6.7%; S & P forecasts 6.8% …
In particular, although the global FDI trend is decreasing, Vietnam is still a highlight in attracting FDI. In 2023, FDI attraction reached nearly USD 36.6 billion, an increase of 32.1%; implemented FDI capital reached nearly 23.2 billion USD, an increase of 3.5%.
The business investment environment continues to improve, and the business environment ranking increased by 12 places in 2023 according to the evaluation of the Economist (EIU Organization). The global innovation index has been raised (ranking 46/132, up 2 places compared to 2022 according to WIPO’s assessment). The value of Vietnam’s national brand reached USD 431 billion, ranking 32/100 strong national brands in the world.
The Prime Minister emphasized that the FDI sector, in addition to quantity, has made important contributions to improving the quality of Vietnam’s economy.
Accordingly, the FDI sector is an important driving force contributing to innovation, improving the quality of laws, mechanisms, policies, and national governance capacity. The investment of FDI enterprises is an important resource, both supplementing capital and promoting economic restructuring, generating jobs, livelihoods for the people, and producing many high-quality products. The activities of an increasing number of large-scale multinational corporations with modern technology contribute to the upgrading of technology, management skills, and improving Vietnam’s position in the global supply chain.
Along with the general limitations, shortcomings, difficulties, and challenges in the economy, the FDI sector also has some existing limitations such as the quality of investment, technology level, and technology transfer in some projects are still limited; the rate of localization is still low; the connection between the domestic business sector and the FDI sector is not really close, effective, sustainable. The quantity and scale of investment in high-tech, green, clean and environmentally friendly projects are also modest. There is still a situation where some localities have not met enough high-quality manpower for large-scale FDI projects, high technology; there are still shortcomings in labor relations …
Analyzing lessons, the Prime Minister believes that it is necessary to closely follow the international and domestic situation to proactively adjust the appropriate mechanisms and policies to attract FDI, ensure flexibility, timeliness, effectiveness, and suitability of Vietnam’s situation and global trends. It is necessary to focus on building and regularly review, amend, supplement, improve the investment and business environment, ensuring attractiveness, openness, transparency, regional and international competitiveness.
Along with that, it is necessary to attract selective investment, prioritize high-tech projects, with large spillover effects, environmentally friendly, to promote digital transformation, green conversion, circular economy development, and emerging industries, sectors (semiconductor chips, artificial intelligence, hydrogen…) and participate deeply and widely in regional and global production and supply chains.
Not accepting the model of “growth first, cleaning up later”
The Prime Minister said that Vietnam’s strategic goal is to strive by 2030 (the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Party) to be a developing country with a modern industry, high average income; by 2045 (the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the State) to be a developed country with high income.
 The Prime Minister proposes and expects FDI enterprises to continue to accompany and support Vietnam in 5 factors: Capital, institution, technology, management, training human resources – Photo: VGP / Nhat Bac
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2024 is determined as a year of acceleration, breakthrough, with significant meaning in the successful implementation of the 5-year plan 2021-2025 and the 10-year strategy 2021-2030. The results of 2024 must be better than 2023 as instructed by Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong.
The general objective of 2024 is to prioritize promoting growth associated with maintaining macroeconomic stability, controlling inflation, ensuring the major balances of the economy; paying attention to ensuring social security, improving people’s lives; maintaining political and social stability; enhancing national defense – security; promoting international integration; maintaining peace and stability for national development.
To achieve the above objectives, it is necessary to further promote the role of the people and the business community, including the FDI sector. Putting people and businesses at the center, as the subject, the resource, the driving force, and the goal of development; at the same time, not sacrificing progress, social justice, environmental protection to pursue simple economic growth. Use the method of comprehensive access on the spirit of “harmonious interests – shared risks”.
Sharing the perspective of green growth, the Prime Minister said that Vietnam identifies green growth as one of the two core elements (along with digital transformation) of the process of restructuring the economy, transforming the growth model towards improving productivity, quality, efficiency, competitiveness, and developing rapidly, sustainably.
Resolutely not accept the model of “growth first, cleaning up later”; not pursuing growth at any cost; transforming the growth model from “brown” to “green”; mobilizing and effectively using internal and external resources for the development of green ecosystems, circular economy, low-carbon, energy transition…
Along with the strong development of the industrial revolution 4.0, this is an inevitable trend and the goal of every country, a new growth driver; no country can stand outside this process.
Vietnam has actively and responsibly participated in promoting green growth and sustainable development. Vietnam has committed at COP26 to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050; participating in the Asian Zero Emissions Compact (AZEC); Political Declaration establishing the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP)…
Vietnam has issued many strategies, plans, and plans for green transformation such as: Climate change strategy; Green growth action plan; Action program on green energy conversion, carbon and methane emission reduction; Sustainable forestry development program; Power planning VIII…
Vietnam promotes the deployment of the Sustainable Development Program for 1 million hectares of high-quality intensive rice, low-emission in the Mekong Delta region; implementing the “Development plan for large-scale plantation forests for timber production phase 2024 – 2030”, by 2030, the total area of large-scale plantation forests reaches 1 million hectares, contributing to the protection of the ecological environment, adaptation to climate change, and mitigation of natural disasters…
Ensure the legitimate and just rights and interests of businesses
In the coming time, the Prime Minister proposed and expects FDI enterprises to continue to accompany and support Vietnam in 5 factors: Capital, institution, technology, management, and training human resources.
The Prime Minister called on FDI enterprises and foreign investors to accompany Vietnam in implementing green transformation, sustainable development with the spirit of “Three pioneers”.
The first is pioneering in awareness, thinking, and action, innovating thinking, ways of thinking, and ways of doing about green growth.
Second, pioneering in technology transfer, promoting research and development, innovation for green growth.
The third is pioneering in implementing specific green growth projects, renewing traditional growth motivations and adding new growth motivations.
Along with that, the Prime Minister wishes that international organizations, development partners continue to support, accompany Vietnam in the spirit of “Three boosts”.
The first is to strengthen cooperation, sharing of experiences, policy consultation for Vietnam, focusing on priority areas such as green conversion, digital development.
The second is to strengthen financial support, technical support for Vietnam, focusing on projects with spillover effects, breakthroughs, turning the situation, seeking and connecting with appropriate partners, focusing on mobilizing and effectively using green financial resources.
The third is to enhance cooperation in training and developing human resources for Vietnam, especially high-quality labor force serving key economic sectors, important new sectors.
The Prime Minister affirmed Vietnam’s commitment to “three assurances”, promoting “three breakthroughs”, and implementing “three enhancements”.
“Three assurances” include: (i) Ensuring the legitimate rights and interests of businesses in general and FDI in particular, ensuring the stability and development of FDI enterprises in the direction of green growth and major trends of the times such as climate change adaptation; (ii) Ensuring the independence, sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity, political stability, social security order, stable policies for investors to be assured; (iii) Ensuring stable energy supply towards green conversion, developing a green conversion ecosystem, developing the digital economy, digital conversion.
The Prime Minister affirmed that there will be no power shortage with many different solutions, including encouraging the mechanism of direct power purchase.
At the same time, Vietnam promotes 3 strategic breakthroughs including: (i) Breakthrough in the institution to serve green conversion, digital transformation, (ii) Breakthrough in economic and social infrastructure, health, transportation, education, green conversion, technical infrastructure, digital conversion; (iii) Breakthrough in human resources.
Vietnam strengthens “three enhancements” including: (i) Enhancing trust between businesses with the Government and local authorities; (ii) Enhancing transparency, openness, equality, anti-corruption, negative prevention; (iii) Enhancing support for rapid, sustainable development of enterprises, focusing on green transformation, digital conversion, public-private cooperation.
The Government of Vietnam is committed to always accompany, create favorable conditions for the business community, and investors, with the spirit of: “Harmonious interests, shared risks”; “working, winning, and sharing together”.
“Cooperation, favorable or not, is most important when sharing and understanding each other then difficulties, big or small, can be resolved,” the Prime Minister said and suggested that the business community and investors “do what you say, commit to doing, produce real results, can be validated and verified.”
