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 Vietnam Business Forum 2024 (VBF 2024) under the theme “Pioneering FDI companies in implementing the green growth strategy”. The conference and forum were jointly organized by the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the World Bank (WB), and the International Finance Corporation (IFC).
In attendance at the conference and forum were Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung; Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung; Carolyn Turk, World Bank Country Director in Vietnam; leaders of central ministries, departments, and industries; representatives of international organizations, embassies, and foreign representative offices in Vietnam; leaders of corporations, businesses, associations, domestic and international economic experts.
In his opening remarks, Minister Nguyen Chi Dung stated that green growth has become an essential trend and an indispensable element of sustainable development. Businesses in general and FDI businesses in particular will both be the subject and the entity actively participating in the implementation of the Party’s and the State’s guidelines and policies, especially the guidelines for building and improving a fast and sustainable development institutional framework in the new phase.
Recognizing the importance of green growth to the country’s future, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh approved the National Strategy for Green Growth for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050. In this strategy, the business community is identified as a key factor, playing an important role, especially FDI businesses.
According to Minister Nguyen Chi Dung, Vietnam is facing a great opportunity in green growth to be able to transform, catch up, progress together, surpass, take shortcuts, and create momentum for a leap forward in economic, social, and environmental development.
“The green growth orientation is indeed the key to ensuring the successful implementation of the goals in the 10-year Socio-Economic Development Strategy for the period 2021-2030; it creates opportunities for Vietnam to continue the momentum of innovation, promote a deep transformation of growth models, emphasize quality, efficiency, and sustainability at the scale of the entire economy as well as at the enterprise level,” emphasized the Minister.
ALWAYS SHARING WITH PARTNERS
In his directive at the conference, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh once again emphasized that the Government of Vietnam always listens and shares with its partners, investors, and contributes to a peaceful, stable, cooperative, and developing environment, working, enjoying, winning, and developing together.
“First, we have confidence in FDI companies. Second, Vietnam has diplomatic relations with more than 193 countries, including comprehensive strategic partnership relations with all five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, 7 G7 member countries, and 16 G20 members; signing 16 FTAs with over 60 countries. Third, we have confidence in unity and unity within the Party, the political system, the people, national unity, international unity. Fourth, we have confidence in the traditions of the nation, the more pressure, the more effort. Fifth, confidence from the efforts of enterprises, the people, and the state to overcome difficulties and challenges,” shared the Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister stated that in a very difficult context, many reputable 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%…
Especially, despite the global downward trend in FDI, Vietnam remains a bright spot in attracting FDI. In 2023, FDI attraction reached nearly $36.6 billion, up 32.1%; implemented FDI capital reached nearly $23.2 billion, increasing by 3.5%.
The investment and business environment is continuously improving, and the business environment ranking has increased by 12 places in 2023 according to the assessment of The Economist magazine (EIU). The global innovation index has been raised (ranking 46/132, up 2 places compared to 2022 according to WIPO’s assessment). The value of the Vietnamese national brand reached $431 billion, ranked 32 among the world’s strong national brands.
In this regard, FDI is an important driving force contributing to promoting economic growth, innovation, improving the quality of laws, mechanisms, and policies, and the country’s management capacity.
However, along with the limitations, shortcomings, difficulties, and challenges in the overall economy, the FDI sector also has some existing issues and limitations such as investment quality, limited technological level and technology transfer in some projects; low localization rate; the connection between domestic business sector and the FDI sector is not yet truly close, efficient, and sustainable.
Thus, Vietnam aims to attract selective investment, prioritize high-tech projects with large spillover effects, friendly environmental features, and promote digital transformation, green transformation, circular and new emerging sectors (semiconductors, artificial intelligence, hydrogen…) and deeply participate in regional and global production and supply chains.
NOT ACCEPTING “GROWTH FIRST, CLEANUP LATER”
Sharing the green growth perspective, the Prime Minister stated that Vietnam identifies green growth as one of the two core factors (along with digital transformation) of the process of restructuring the economy, transforming the growth model towards increasing productivity, quality, efficiency, competitiveness, rapid and sustainable development
Resolutely not accepting the model of “growth first, cleanup later;” not pursuing growth at any cost; transforming the growth model from “brown” to “green”; mobilizing and efficiently using internal and external resources for the development of green ecosystems, circular economy, low-carbon, and energy transformation…
Along with the strong development of the Industrial Revolution 4.0, this is an inevitable trend and a new growth driver; no country can stand outside this process.
Vietnam has actively and responsibly engaged in promoting green growth and sustainable development. Vietnam has committed at COP26 to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050; participating in the Asian Zero Emission Coalition (AZEC); Joint Energy Transition Partnership Political Declaration (JETP)…
Vietnam has issued many strategies, plans, and programs for green transformation such as the Climate Change Strategy; Green Growth Action Plan; Green Energy Transition, Carbon and Methane Emission Reduction Action Program; Sustainable Forestry Development Program; Power Planning VIII…
Vietnam is promoting the implementation of the Sustainable Development Project of 1 million hectares of high-quality intensive cultivation, low emission in the Mekong Delta region; implementing the “Large-scale Wood Plantation Development Plan 2024-2030,” by 2030, the total area of large-scale wood plantation reaches 1 million hectares, contributing to the protection of the ecological environment, adaptation to climate change, and disaster risk reduction…
GREEN TRANSFORMATION WITH THE SPIRIT OF “THREE PIONEERS”
In the coming period, the Prime Minister proposed and desired that FDI companies continue to accompany and support Vietnam in 5 aspects: Capital, Institution, Technology, Management, and Human Resources Training.
The Prime Minister called on FDI companies and foreign investors to accompany Vietnam in implementing green transformation, sustainable development with the spirit of “three pioneers”.
First, pioneer in awareness, thinking, and action, innovating thinking, mindset, and approach to green growth.
Second, pioneer in technology transfer, promoting research and development, innovation and creativity to serve green growth.
Third, pioneer in implementing specific green growth projects, revitalizing traditional growth drivers, and adding new growth drivers.
Along with that, the Prime Minister desires that international organizations and development partners continue to support and accompany Vietnam in the spirit of “three boosts”.
First, strengthen cooperation, sharing experiences, policy consultations for Vietnam, focusing on priority areas such as green transformation, digital development.
Second, boost financial support, technical assistance for Vietnam, focusing on projects with spillover effects, breakthroughs, turning points, seeking and connecting with appropriate partners, focusing on mobilizing and efficiently using green financial resources.
Third, strengthen cooperation in training and developing human resources for Vietnam, especially high-quality labor force serving key economic sectors and important and emerging fields.
The Prime Minister also affirmed Vietnam’s commitment to “three assurances”, promoting “three breakthroughs” and implementing “three enhancements”.
The “three assurances” include: (i) Ensuring the legitimate rights and interests of businesses in general and FDI in particular, ensuring stable and green growth-oriented development for FDI businesses and major development trends of the era such as climate change adaptation; (ii) Ensuring the independence, sovereignty, unity, territorial integrity, political stability, social order, stable policies to reassure investors; (iii) Ensuring stable access to energy in a green and energy transition-oriented direction, developing a green transformation ecosystem, digital transformation.
The Prime Minister emphasized not letting there be a power shortage with various solutions, including the deployment of mechanisms to encourage direct electricity trading.
At the same time, Vietnam is promoting three strategic breakthroughs including: (i) Breakthrough in institutional reform to serve green and digital transformation; (ii) Breakthrough in economic and social infrastructure, healthcare, transportation, education, green and digital infrastructure; (iii) Breakthrough in human resources.
Vietnam is implementing “three enhancements” including: (i) Enhancing trust between businesses and the Government and local authorities; (ii) Strengthening transparency, equality, anti-corruption, and negative practices; (iii) Enhancing support for rapid and sustainable business development, focusing on green and digital transformation, public-private cooperation.
The Government of Vietnam is committed to always accompanying and creating favorable conditions for the business community, domestic and foreign investors with the spirit of “harmonious interests, shared risks”; “work together, win together, enjoy together, and develop together.”
“We may or may not have achieved cooperation, but the most important thing is to share and understand, then any difficulties, big or small, can be resolved,” the Prime Minister said and requested the business community and investors to “do what you say, fulfill your commitments, achieve tangible results, be balanced, counted, and measured.”
