VAFIE launches HCMC rep office

Vietnam’s Association of Foreign Invested Enterprises (VAFIE) inaugurated its Representative Office in Ho Chi Minh City on Saturday, to better serve the operations of the business organization and its members in southern Vietnam.

VAFIE was established in 2003 as a non-profit to protect the legitimate rights and interests of its members, contributing to the promotion of foreign and Vietnamese investments.

Notable organizations and leaders joining the launch included former leaders of ministries, leaders from HCMC, the Central Highlands and Mekong Delta, AusCham Vietnam, Northern Territory-Vietnam Business Council (NTVBC), companies and business associations throughout the country.

Participants also included Nguyen Quoc Cuong, former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and former Chairman of the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs (SCOV).

The representative office is expected to serve as a bridge between foreign-invested and domestic enterprises. The office will also work closely with policymakers to help remove obstacles and solve bottle-neck problems for interested parties while doing business in Vietnam as well as abroad.

At the launching ceremony, Prof. Nguyen Mai, Chairman of VAFIE, appointed Nguyen Ngoc My as the Office Head, and also as Vice Chairman of VAFIE.

VAFIE is working with NTVBC to promote investment cooperation between Vietnam and Australia's Northern Territory.

When mentioning Australia, people often think of Canberra, Sydney or Melbourne. However, My said in terms of strategic geographical location, the Northern Territory’s capital Darwin plays a very important and unique strategic role in trade as it is the closest gateway connecting Asia to the rest of Australia.

Over the past 20 years, the Vietnam-Australia trade has grown by an average of 8.6% per year, much faster than Australia's overall trade growth of 5.8%. With Vietnam’s desire to be deeply integrated with the world economy, including Australia, VAFIE is aiming to balance the interests between Vietnam and the Northern Territory.

Based on the strategic and planning documents, which the Northern Territory Government has issued in recent years, VAFIE has agreed with NTVBC to focus on a number of cooperation priorities between Vietnam and the territory, namely agriculture and processing; construction; tourism; vocational training and human resource development.