VCCI Vice Chairman Nguyen Quang Vinh speaks at the event

The event aims to promote bilateral economic, trade and investment cooperation, organized by VCCI in coordination with the Ethiopian Embassy in Korea, concurrently in Vietnam, at the proposal of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.

In his opening speech, Mr. Nguyen Quang Vinh - Vice Chairman of VCCI - welcomed the Ethiopian delegation, including Ambassador Negus Labada and Mr. Kenenissa Lemi - President of the Ethiopian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Associations, emphasizing the importance of the event in the context that both Vietnam and Ethiopia are promoting reform, integration and sustainable development.

The Ethiopian Ambassador affirmed that this is a milestone in the relationship between the two countries, with strong political will and commitment to promoting economic cooperation.

He compared Ethiopia to the “gateway to Africa” and Vietnam to the fulcrum of Southeast Asia, calling on the business community to take advantage of cooperation opportunities in areas such as agricultural processing, textiles, green energy, ICT, logistics, pharmaceuticals, mining and manufacturing. Ethiopia wants to increase exports of agricultural products, coffee, flowers and spices to Asia, and learn from Vietnam’s experience in developing industry and agriculture.

Ethiopian Embassy and Trade Officials Appreciate the Potential for Trade Cooperation Between the Two Sides

At the event, Mr. Kenenissa Lemi also gave an overview of the Ethiopian Chamber of Commerce – an organization representing more than 400,000 businesses. This organization supports the building of a favorable business environment, promotes public-private dialogue, seeks market partners, signs international cooperation agreements and provides legal services. He invited Vietnamese businesses to invest in Ethiopia and pledged to accompany cooperation initiatives.

Also within the framework of the program, Dr. Habtamu Simachew – Senior Advisor to the Ethiopian Investment Commission – presented online on investment potential and incentives.

He emphasized that Ethiopia has a young population, a large domestic market, competitive electricity costs, an open policy and a strategic location in the AfCFTA bloc. Priority investment areas include: manufacturing, agriculture, ICT, mining, real estate, tourism and energy. He introduced preferential policies such as: income tax exemption for 1-15 years, exemption from import tax on machinery and exports, and "one-stop" procedures through the Investment Committee.

Vietnamese enterprises are very interested in the potential of this market, expressing their expectation to expand investment in the coming time

The Q&A session was lively with the participation of many Vietnamese enterprises. Questions revolved around licensing procedures in the mining industry, the possibility of joint ventures with Ethiopian state-owned enterprises, access to the African market, minimum investment capital requirements, capital recovery, drug export licensing, and opportunities in the textile and garment industry.

Some enterprises were interested in the long-term nature of 100% foreign ownership, land lease policies, international payments and profit transfers. Many enterprises are looking for Ethiopian partners to import rice, spices, cereals, wood, open representative offices, or supply goods to supermarket chains.

The Ethiopian representative pledged to support business connections and provide more detailed information.

At the end of the event, Mr. Nguyen Quang Vinh affirmed VCCI's commitment to promoting investment and trade cooperation with Ethiopia. He announced that VCCI will sign a cooperation agreement with the Ethiopian Chamber of Commerce to facilitate businesses of the two countries.