He made the request at yesterday’s Commercial Counselors Conference in Hanoi, which saw the presence of Vietnamese counselors from 57 Trade Offices and seven foreign branches, along with representatives from ministries and enterprises.
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc addressed at the meeting
|
The Government is setting major export turnover targets for key commodities, such as rice, shrimp, medicine, vegetables and fruits, hence, it wants to hear the proposals of trade counselors to promote the exports, Phuc said.
Vietnam’s international assessment is very positive and the international ranking of the Vietnamese business environment has been significantly improved. The atmosphere of excitement of the whole society is most exhilarating and is strengthening the confidence of investors and the business community. This is an important premise for sustainable development in the future.
PM Phuc emphasized that trade counselors made important contributions to the overall achievements of the country, especially to the export record in 2017. Vietnam Trade Offices have promoted exports, especially opening the way for agricultural products and fruit exports to reach other countries, shooing Vietnam into the international distribution chains. They also protect and enhance Vietnamese brands in the international market.
The Prime Minister said that Vietnam now has trade relations with more than 220 countries and territories, while 59 partner countries recognize Vietnam as a market economy. After 10 years of WTO accession (2007-2017), the total trade turnover of Vietnam increased by 3 times.
Illustration
|
The Trade Offices will play a crucial role in finding new export markets, he added.
The PM asked the Ministry of Industry and Trade to give timely rewards to Trade Offices and commercial counselors who actively contribute to promoting exports of staple products such as shrimp, mango, dragon fruit, lychee, star apple, longan, and chicken to Asian markets.
At the same time, the Prime Minister asked the Trade Offices to seize opportunities to expand the market. However, in the context of the Industrial Revolution 4.0, there are new business directions that need to be understood.
In the current stage of socioeconomic development, economic diplomacy needs to receive due attention so the Trade Offices must have an important role in Vietnamese embassies abroad.
He requested trade counselors to do their utmost to help realize the country’s trade turnover target of US$500 billion in 2018.
The counselors should take the success of businesses as a measure of their operational efficiency.
According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Trade Offices abroad carried out over 500 trade promotion activities in 2016-2017 to help domestic and foreign companies update on export-import regulations and trade connectivity.
They also worked actively with the Department of Trade Defense under the Ministry of Industry and Trade to deal with trade defense measures such as anti-dumping and anti-subsidies applied by countries importing Vietnamese goods.
The Trade Offices need to focus on solutions to take advantage of FTA preferences to bring Vietnamese goods to the local market as well as mobilize the enterprises of the host country co-operating with Vietnamese enterprises.
At the same time, the Trade Offices should work with the trade management ministries and agencies of the host country so that the two sides can warn each other in time of potential trade disputes so that measures can be taken to minimize friction.
The PM also noted that the officials of the Trade Offices should uphold the spirit of solidarity and discipline, make good use of their opportunities and mission.
