Promoting potential areas of cooperation between Vietnam and UAE

At the invitation of President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Prime Minister of the State of Qatar Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jasim Al-Thani, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Mohammed Bin Salman, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his wife, along with a high-ranking delegation of Vietnam, will pay an official visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the State of Qatar, attend the 8th Future Investment Initiative Conference and pay a working visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from October 27 to November 2, 2024.

The official visit to the UAE is the first official visit by a Vietnamese Prime Minister to the UAE in 15 years.

The visit took place in the context of the positive development of relations between Vietnam and the UAE in recent times. In 2023, the two countries organized many activities to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations (August 1, 1993 - August 1, 2023).

The visit is of great significance in contributing to strengthening political trust, elevating relations, and creating breakthroughs in relations between the two countries in the coming time.

Political and diplomatic relations are constantly strengthened.

Vietnam and the UAE officially established diplomatic relations on August 1, 1993. But in reality, the friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and the UAE has been formed for a long time and has been tested in the common struggle for national independence of the two countries.

The UAE Government and people have strongly supported and encouraged the Vietnamese people's past struggle for national independence and current nation-building.

Over the past 30 years, the Vietnam-UAE friendship and cooperation have been developing positively in many fields such as politics, diplomacy, trade, investment, labor and tourism. Political trust and mutual understanding between the two countries have been constantly strengthened.

The recent active exchange of delegations at many levels between the two countries is a clear demonstration. Notable ones include: the visit and work in the UAE by Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien (April 2023); the visit and work in the UAE by Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan (May 2023); the official visit to Vietnam by UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan (June 2023); Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh attending the 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28), combined with bilateral activities in the UAE (December 2023); Minister of State for Foreign Trade of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi visiting Vietnam (August 2024)...

These visits have contributed to deepening bilateral relations and opening up many opportunities for cooperation between the two countries in many fields in the coming time.

Recently, during a reception for UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi and leaders of 19 major UAE corporations (August 26, 2024), Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh affirmed that Vietnam attaches importance to the friendship and multifaceted cooperation with the UAE, one of Vietnam's leading economic partners in the Middle East. Vietnam considers the UAE a gateway to enhance cooperation with the Middle East and is ready to act as a bridge for the UAE to promote cooperation with ASEAN.

The two sides emphasized their determination to continue promoting comprehensive cooperation in all fields, especially soon elevating bilateral relations and completing negotiations and signing the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between Vietnam and the UAE (CEPA).

According to Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, to further promote bilateral cooperation, the two sides need to increase the exchange of delegations at all levels, especially at high levels; soon conclude negotiations, aiming to sign a balanced and mutually beneficial CEPA Agreement. At the same time, facilitate and encourage businesses of the two countries to cooperate and invest; study and consider reducing tax rates on a number of goods to promote the complementary strengths of the two economies; soon realize the goal of bringing bilateral trade turnover to 10 billion USD.

The two sides agreed to closely coordinate in implementing the agreements reached; prepare well for the organization of the 6th Session of the Intergovernmental Committee in 2025; promote cooperation in energy and oil and gas; strengthen cooperation in developing the Halal food industry, promote the export of Halal products, agricultural and aquatic products, fresh vegetables, processed foods, etc. of Vietnam to the UAE and the Middle East; UAE supports the construction and development of the International Financial Center in Ho Chi Minh City; encourage UAE investment in other fields.

For his part, Minister of State Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi highly agreed with the opinions to promote cooperation in the areas mentioned by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, saying that the UAE ministries and agencies are actively working with Vietnamese agencies to implement the legal process to soon complete negotiations and sign the CEPA agreement. The UAE wants to strengthen cooperation with businesses to produce and process Halal food in Vietnam.

Minister of State Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi said that the UAE will establish a Business Cooperation Council with Vietnam in the near future, with the desire to promote Vietnam-UAE cooperation more deeply, practically and effectively, especially in the fields of trade and investment.

In addition to bilateral cooperation, the two countries also strengthen coordination and mutual support at multilateral organizations and forums; improve the effectiveness of the Political Consultation mechanism between the two Foreign Ministries; and promote the role of Vietnam and the UAE in the relationship between ASEAN and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

Economic and trade fields are important pillars of cooperation.

Economic cooperation has always been an important pillar and a bright spot in the overall picture of Vietnam-UAE cooperation relations.

The UAE is currently Vietnam's largest export market in the Middle East-Africa region with bilateral trade turnover in 2023 reaching 4.7 billion USD, an increase of 6.8% compared to 2022..

The first nine months of 2024 reached 4.96 billion USD, exceeding the turnover of the whole year of 2023. The two countries strive to soon achieve the target of 10 billion USD in trade turnover in the near future and even higher in the following years.

Vietnam mainly exports to the UAE products such as phones and components, textiles, computers, electronic products and components, footwear, etc. and imports from the UAE products such as raw plastics, animal feed, machinery, equipment and spare parts, base metals, and chemicals.

In terms of investment, the UAE is one of the major investors in Vietnam with a total of 42 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects, total capital of 74.09 million USD, ranking 52nd out of 148 countries and territories investing in Vietnam (accumulated to September 2024).

The potential for economic and trade cooperation between Vietnam and the UAE is still very large, as the two economies have complementary strengths. The two countries have been negotiating the Vietnam-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) since June 2023. In recent meetings, the leaders of the two countries agreed to soon complete negotiations to sign the CEPA agreement.

The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between Vietnam and the UAE (CEPA) is expected to not only help directly export Vietnamese goods to the UAE, but also help Vietnamese goods penetrate the Middle East market through the "UAE gateway".

UAE businesses are also keen to seize opportunities that will boost overall economic growth and expect the agreement to boost bilateral trade relations.

According to the Dubai Chambers of Commerce, Vietnam is an attractive destination for UAE businesses in the field of investment and trade promotion. Vietnam has great growth potential thanks to its favorable economic policies, solid infrastructure, skilled workforce and strategic location. Sectors offering high potential export opportunities from Vietnam to Dubai include furniture, nuts, tropical fruits and coffee.

On the contrary, in the investment field, Dubai businesses highly appreciate the potential for sustainable agricultural development, construction, tourism and food industry in Vietnam.

Regarding labor cooperation, there are currently about 3,000 Vietnamese workers working in the UAE. The UAE side wishes to receive more Vietnamese workers to work in the UAE in the near future, and support Vietnam in vocational training for workers.

Currently, the two countries share a common awareness of the importance of soon elevating bilateral relations to a new height, commensurate with the potential, economic scale and expectations of both sides.

The two sides agreed to promote cooperation in energy and oil and gas in the coming time; strengthen cooperation in developing the Halal food industry, promote the export of Halal products, agricultural and aquatic products, fresh vegetables, processed foods... from Vietnam to the UAE and the Middle East; UAE supports the construction and development of the International Financial Center in Ho Chi Minh City; encourage UAE investment in other fields...

The two sides also agreed to promote aviation cooperation, consider increasing the frequency of flights between the two countries to promote tourist attraction; strengthen cooperation and sports exchanges, in which the UAE supports Vietnam in establishing a youth football training academy in the near future; and strengthen security and defense cooperation, including the field of officer training and education.

With the foundation of good relations over the past 30 years, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's official visit to the UAE this time aims to continue implementing the foreign policy of the 13th National Party Congress, the policy of multilateralization, diversification, proactive and active international integration, in which priority is given to diversifying markets, diversifying partners, diversifying supply chains, contributing to further consolidating the peaceful and cooperative environment, maximizing the attraction of resources for national development.

The visit will continue to contribute to strengthening political trust and creating new breakthrough momentum for Vietnam's cooperation with the UAE in many fields, from economics, trade, investment, to new areas of cooperation such as innovation, science, technology, and energy.