The Chairman of ASEAN BAC Vietnam, Vice Chairman of VCCI Nguyen Quang Vinh, spoke at the working session between Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and leading Indonesian businesses.

During the working session, discussing the potential for cooperation between both sides, Chairman of ASEAN BAC Vietnam and Vice Chairman of VCCI Nguyen Quang Vinh assessed that through meetings and direct interactions between high-level leaders and businesses, Indonesian businesses would gain updated information about Vietnam's international integration policy, especially with ASEAN. This would further strengthen their understanding and positive sentiments towards Vietnam, the Vietnamese government's tradition of accompanying and seeking opportunities to address challenges with businesses, as well as Vietnam's leadership's appreciation for businesses.

Chairman of ASEAN BAC Vietnam also expressed the hope that Indonesian businesses could take advantage of the business exchange opportunity to discuss and present initiatives to promote economic ties between the two countries, as well as the difficulties and challenges that businesses are currently facing.

On behalf of ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN BAC) Vietnam, Vice Chairman of VCCI expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh for taking the time to meet with prominent Indonesian businesses and the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN).

Indonesian businesses spoke at the working session.

During the meeting, representatives of the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN BAC) 2023 introduced Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh to ASEAN's heritage projects, including the ASEAN QR Code and the ASEAN P2P Cross-border lending platform.

Specifically, ASEAN BAC is collaborating with central banks in ASEAN countries to develop the QR code, making cross-border payments more convenient for businesses.

In terms of sustainable development goals, two ASEAN centers, "ASEAN Net Zero" and "Center of Excellence for Carbon Emissions," are innovative programs that Indonesia will implement to address environmental sustainability issues.

The ASEAN Net Zero Center will support private sector efforts to reduce carbon emissions and achieve ASEAN-level emissions targets. The Center of Excellence for Carbon will encourage global cooperation to achieve zero emissions goals and empower businesses to leverage carbon business potential.

During the meeting, Indonesian businesses in sectors such as real estate, agriculture (Ciputra, Astra, Sinarmas) expressed their views and highly regarded the market and potential for cooperation with Vietnamese businesses. They also expressed their desire to expand investments in Vietnam, especially in areas where both sides have advantages, such as finance, banking, electric vehicles, renewable energy, mineral exploitation like rare earths, low-income housing, agriculture, rice trade, rubber, and carbon credit trading.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (right) and Chairman of the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN-BAC) and Chairman of KADIN Arsjad Rasjid.

Listening to the opinions of Indonesian businesses, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh assessed that in nearly 70 years of diplomatic relations (1955-2025) and 10 years of the Strategic Partnership framework (2013-2023), the Vietnam-Indonesia relationship has continuously and robustly developed. Economic cooperation, investment, and trade hold a significant position within this relationship and are consistently promoted. Both countries are aiming to elevate this relationship, providing an important foundation for businesses from both sides to enhance their commercial and investment cooperation.

Currently, Vietnam is actively attracting and implementing policies to encourage projects in high technology, innovation, research and development, projects that facilitate Vietnamese businesses' participation in value chains, projects promoting the digital economy, green economy, circular economy, sharing economy, and sustainable development, as well as strategic infrastructure development.

The Prime Minister emphasized, "Vietnam always welcomes Indonesian businesses to invest in the banking and finance sector, which still has a lot of room for both sides to cooperate and share experiences, especially in the development of smart finance."

The Prime Minister also mentioned Vietnam's commitment to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, including policies to encourage the development of electric vehicles. He proposed effective cooperation between both sides in the exploration of mineral resources for green development, such as electric vehicle battery production, as well as carbon credit trading cooperation.

Discussing cooperation opportunities related to the real estate market, the Prime Minister noted that Vietnam is facing a supply-demand imbalance, especially in the shortage of social housing and housing for low-income individuals.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Chairman of ASEAN BAC Vietnam Nguyen Quang Vinh, along with leaders from KADIN and some prominent Indonesian businesses - Photo: VGP

The Prime Minister also hopes that Indonesian businesses investing in Vietnam will fulfill their social responsibilities, increase investment in the development of housing for people with medium and low incomes, and foster a spirit of cooperation to ensure that "no one is left behind."

Regarding agriculture, the Prime Minister believes that the two countries need agreements in areas such as rice and rubber supply to enable stable cooperation, proactive sourcing, and product pricing based on market conditions with balanced benefits and shared risks.

The Prime Minister also suggested that VCCI and KADIN need to closely and effectively collaborate in connecting and promoting more efficient business cooperation and investment between the two countries, saving costs and time.

“In the spirit of "balanced benefits and shared risks," the Vietnamese government always accompanies, listens, shares, supports, and creates favorable conditions for foreign investors in general and Indonesian investors, in particular, to carry out investment and business activities successfully, sustainably, and in the long term in Vietnam”, emphasized Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.