The Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, Phan Van Mai, emphasized the city’s potential during the working session. He stated that Ho Chi Minh City is the economic, cultural, scientific, and integration center of Vietnam. The city has a long history of initiating and implementing cooperation projects between Vietnam and other countries, with a particular focus on the Czech Republic.
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| Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, Phan Van Mai (right), meets with Czech Minister of Agriculture, Marek Vyborny, on March 19. (Photo: VNA) |
Ho Chi Minh City plays a significant role in Vietnam’s agricultural economic chain, particularly in the sectors of agriculture and food industry. It serves as a market for various agricultural products, a hub for domestic and foreign import and export activities, and a center for agricultural processing, logistics, and export-import of seeds.
Phan Van Mai aims to promote comprehensive political, economic, and cultural cooperation with partners from the Czech Republic, with a special focus on cooperation in the agriculture and food industry. The Chairman appreciates the strengths of the Czech Republic in agriculture, agricultural products, and food processing. He believes that traditional Czech products, such as dairy, meat, and food industry inputs, have great potential in the Ho Chi Minh City market and the entire southern region of Vietnam.
Tourism, restaurants, and hotels are also areas with high potential for collaboration, which can contribute to increased trade turnover and economic cooperation between Vietnam and the Czech Republic. The establishment of direct flights between the two nations will further enhance cooperation in tourism and tourism services, leading to increased trade turnover.
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| Illustrative photo: A corner of Ho Chi Minh City (Photo: VNA) |
Czech Republic’s Minister of Agriculture, Marek Vyborny, mentioned that the total two-way trade turnover between the Czech Republic and Vietnam exceeded US $2.5 billion in 2023. He expressed his hope for increased bilateral trade turnover between the Czech Republic and Vietnam, particularly with Ho Chi Minh City. He also expressed his confidence in Ho Chi Minh City’s economic development potential and believes that the city can serve as a destination for Czech firms. Czech enterprises can leverage their presence in Ho Chi Minh City to penetrate other markets in Vietnam.
Marek Vyborny extended an invitation to Vietnamese enterprises, especially those in Ho Chi Minh City, to visit the Czech Republic and explore potential collaborations in agriculture and food processing. He also expressed the readiness of the Czech Republic to cooperate with Vietnam in organizing business meetings between the two countries in areas of mutual interest.
