These are some of the results of economic diplomacy, one of the pillars of diplomacy that Vietnamese embassies and representatives abroad are actively promoting, to turn strategic partners and comprehensive strategic partners into concrete results, serving the development interests of the country.
New ecosystem
Speaking to reporters at the 32nd Diplomatic Conference in December 2023, Vietnamese Ambassador to the US Nguyen Quoc Dung said that after the visit of US President Joe Biden to Vietnam and the upgrade of bilateral relations to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, both sides have prioritized cooperation in the fields of science, technology, economic development, trade and investment. This has generated a wave of interest in Vietnam not only from American companies but also from other countries, making companies without projects in Vietnam want to explore opportunities, and many have already been present here and want to expand cooperation. Many companies have found Vietnamese partners in the semiconductor industry, high-tech agriculture, clean energy, and digital transformation.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Mr. Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, in a meeting in September 2023 in the US Image: VGP
Recently, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has visited Vietnam and committed to establishing a legal entity in Vietnam, making Vietnam the second home of the leading US chip group. “This trip will definitely open up future trips. I will return to Vietnam, return to the second home of Nvidia”, Mr. Huang said during the visit.
Ambassador Dung believes that there will definitely be more similar attention in the coming time. American businesses investing in Vietnam often follow the trend, to work together or do different things to complement each other, creating a better and more favorable ecosystem, including activities not directly related to investment, but only for support, such as training, resorts, entertainment…
In addition to effectively implementing signed free trade agreements (FTAs), in 2023, Vietnam signed an FTA with Israel and is actively negotiating FTAs with other partners; signing more than 70 cooperation documents from ministries, sectors, and nearly 100 cooperation agreements from localities, hundreds of agreements from businesses…
Nvidia benefits greatly from the boom of artificial intelligence (AI). The market capitalization of the company’s graphics processing unit (GPU) sales and other AI-related products has reached USD 1,190 billion. Forbes estimates Mr. Huang’s total assets at USD 42.4 billion. If Nvidia’s plan becomes reality, Vietnam will become a manufacturing base for the company, which may serve as a boost for Vietnam’s high-tech development trend around the world.
Singapore sees great potential
Singapore has always been the top investor in Vietnam. During the visit of Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to Vietnam in August 2023, the two sides kicked off the construction of four new VSIP industrial parks, and Singapore intends to invest in six more industrial parks. Currently, there are 14 VSIP industrial parks in Vietnam which are operating effectively.
Vietnamese Ambassador to Singapore Mai Phuoc Dung said that Singapore is strong in finance and digitalization; Vietnam needs to take advantage of not only Singapore’s strengths but also the advantages of companies from other countries operating in Singapore. Ambassador Dung said that Vietnam and Singapore are discussing the signing of a carbon credit agreement. “Singapore really wants to sign with Vietnam because it considers Vietnam to have great potential in carbon credits”, he said.
Offshore wind power is considered a breakthrough solution for energy conversion Image: Baochinhphu.vn
Singapore is also pursuing a major project to purchase 1.2 MW of offshore wind power in Vietnam. This is a joint venture project between the Vietnam Oil and Gas Technical Services Corporation (PTSC) and Sembcorp in Singapore. During Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s visit, Vietnam issued a license for PTSC to survey the location. In October 2023, Singapore provided Sembcorp with necessary conditions to proceed with the agreement, expected to implement the project from 2024-2033, with a total investment of over USD 10 billion. “This is a very large project, I cannot disclose the details, but Singapore is looking forward to Vietnam. You ask if there is great potential”, Ambassador Dung said. According to him, once completed, this will be the world’s largest underwater high-voltage cable project, with a length of 1,000 km; the world’s longest underwater cable route is currently 700 km.
According to Vietnamese Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Dang Xuan Dung, Vietnam can take advantage of financial resources from public investment funds in the Middle East, such as ADIA, KIA, PIF, QIA… because they have plans to diversify investment locations, not only focusing on traditional markets such as Europe and the US but also gradually expanding to other regions, including Asia. These funds are tending to diversify their investment portfolios, not only focusing on traditional areas such as bonds, real estate… but also towards new technologies, AI, biotechnology, fintech, and blockchain.
Singapore also has a lot of experience in logistics. Currently, there is a USD 1.2 billion project of YCH Group and T&T in Vinh Phuc, which has completed phase 1. Ambassador Dung said that Singapore wants to do a similar project in Vinh Long because it sees huge logistics potential in Vietnam. Knowing that Vietnam plans to build the North-South high-speed railway project, Singapore’s PSA seaport group wants to cooperate with Vietnam. “They said that when transporting goods, they will need a lot of logistics warehouses and really want to build logistics warehouses along this railway line”, he shared.
VietCham first
Vietnamese businesses in Thailand, especially the Vietnamese-Thai Business Association, have organized a Forum connecting Vietnamese businesses in Laos and Thailand, and then organized a Forum connecting Vietnamese-Lao-Thai businesses in Thailand. In November 2023, for the first time, a Forum connecting Vietnamese businesses in the 5 countries of Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Myanmar was held.
“I hope this forum will be held annually, providing a good platform for Vietnamese entrepreneurs to connect with each other, build a distribution network for Vietnamese goods in countries in the Mekong region, and connect to support each other in business activities”, Vietnamese Ambassador to Thailand Phan Chi Thanh said. He said that for the past two years, the Vietnamese Embassy in Thailand and Vietnamese companies with investments and business operations in Thailand have established the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce in Thailand, the first Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce abroad, called VietCham. VietCham was licensed in October 2023 and was launched under the witness of Chairman of the National Assembly Vuong Dinh Hue, on the occasion of his official visit to Thailand in early December 2023.
Ambassador Thanh said that the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry agreed to develop a project to submit to the Government on the development of the VietCham network globally, based on the success of the VietCham Thailand model.
