Vietnam, Indonesia to cooperate in digital economy, EV ecosystem development

Vietnam and Indonesia will expand cooperation to new fields including artificial intelligence, digital economy, green economy and renewable energy; and step up investment in developing electric vehicle (EV) ecosystems and batteries.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and visiting Indonesian President Joko Widodo reached this agreement while co-chairing a high-level business dialogue between the two countries in Hanoi Saturday.

Among other things, they agreed to create favorable conditions for and encourage their businesses to invest in each other's markets, expand cooperation programs within the framework of the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JTEP), and strengthen cooperation in the Halal industry and food security.

President Widodo said Indonesia and Vietnam shared a common vision of becoming high-income countries by 2045. To realize that vision, the two sides need to strengthen dialogue and high-quality cooperation, he added.

Indonesia has opened a carbon trading floor and is promoting the development of the EV industry, he said, expressing his hope that Vietnam's leading businesses will cooperate and invest more in Indonesia, helping it realize its goals.

In particular, Widodo wanted Vietnam’s EV maker VinFast to expand investment in the electric vehicle field; low-cost carrier Vietjet Air to open more flights to Indonesian tourist destinations; Sovico Group to invest in tourism and real estate projects; and FPT Software to invest in relevant technologies.

“We also hope to welcome many Vietnamese investors to Indonesia in the fields of banking, finance, education, science and technology and manufacturing,” he said.

PM Chinh said that over nearly 70 years of establishment, the Vietnam-Indonesia relationship had developed constantly, with economic cooperation as a highlight.

“However, economic cooperation is not commensurate with the political relations and the scale of the economies and populations of the two countries,” he stressed.

“There is no reason why businesses from both countries should not explore opportunities and continue to connect and promote investment to realize the high-level agreements as well as the ideas and goals of the two countries, quickly overcoming difficulties in the context of today's complex and unpredictable world developments,” he said.

The Vietnamese leader praised Indonesian investors in Vietnam, saying their successful projects have become models of economic cooperation between the two countries.

“Vietnam encourages businesses to invest in emerging economic sectors such as digital economy, green economy, circular economy, knowledge economy, sharing economy and industries of Indonesia’s strength,” he said, hoping that Indonesian businesses will cooperate and support Vietnamese peers to participate in Indonesia’s supply chain as well as the global one.

“Vietnam always creates the best conditions for businesses, including those from Indonesia, to invest and do business in a stable, long-term and successful manner in Vietnam,” he affirmed.

Following their talks, President Widodo visited the VinFast electric vehicle manufacturing complex in the northern port city of Hai Phong. After visiting the electric automobile manufacturing factory there, he pledged to create conditions for VinFast, a subsidiary of Vietnamese private conglomerate Vingroup, to complete procedures to invest and do business in the Indonesian market.

Earlier, the EV maker had said it plans to invest at least $1.2 billion in Indonesia in the long-term. Apart from distributing imported cars from Vietnam in the first phase, VinFast said it plans to build a $200-million EV factory in the country with an expected annual capacity of 30,000-50,000 vehicles.

Earlier the same day, President Widodo and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with representatives of businesses operating in either country’s markets.

They were informed that VinFast and GSM, which offers VinFast electric car and motorbike rental and taxi services, and PT GoTo Gojek Tokopedia Tbk, an Indonesian technology company, have signed an MoU to promote green transport in Indonesia.

GSM is also planning to invest $900 million in Indonesia in the coming time, the leaders were told. After visiting the VinFast factory, Widodo left Hai Phong at noon, concluding his three-day state visit to Vietnam.