HCM City (VNA) – Ho Chi Minh City wishes to learn from Luxembourg’s experience and cooperate with the European country in science-technology and green finance, towards building a financial centre in the time ahead, a municipal official said on May 5.  

At a reception for Prime Minister of Luxembourg Xavier Bettel, Chairman of the HCM City People’s Committee Phan Van Mai stressed that PM Bettel’s visit will contribute to boosting cooperation activities between the city and the European nation.

The official noted that HCM City stands ready to cooperate with Luxembourg partners in the fields of high-tech, digital transformation, renewable energy and green energy.

HCM City eyes cooperation with Luxembourg in different fields. Photo: TTXVN

Mai used this occasion to thank Luxembourg for its financial support to HCM City in the rollout of climate adaptation projects, and called on the PM to continue connecting the city with Luxembourg partners.

HCM City always welcomes foreign partners and enterprises, including those from Luxembourg, to operate in the city, he affirmed, adding that HCM City wants to strengthen cooperation with businesses of Luxembourg in the areas in which the southern largest economic hub has potential and demand like agricultural product processing, high-tech agriculture and manufacturing.

For his part, PM Bettel held that HCM City and Luxembourg hold substantial cooperation opportunities, and that Luxembourg’s enterprises will be sustainable, reliable partners of local firms, helping them expand connections with the European market.

The two countries should create more favourable conditions for their businesses to operate in the respective markets, he continued.

Sharing Mai’s view, the PM said finance, especially green finance, will offer good cooperation opportunities to Luxembourg and HCM City, stressing that Luxembourg is committed to assisting Vietnam and HCM City in particular in this field, as well as sustainable development.

He said cooperation in traditional spheres like education, environmental protection, climate change response, renewable energy and green energy will be maintained.

While in HCM City, PM Bettel attended and delivered a speech at a Vietnam - Luxembourg business forum, visited the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, and the War Remnants Museum, and found out about climate change impacts in the area along Sai Gon River.

Over the past few days, many Luxembourg news channels have reported on the official visit to Vietnam by Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel from May 3-5, assessing that it will contribute to further strengthening the bilateral relationship in the coming time.

The website of the Luxembourg Government - gouvernement.lu - announced that Prime Minister Bettel's official visit is conducted at the invitation of Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic relations and in response to PM Chinh's visit to Luxembourg in December 2022.

Tageblatt.lu - a daily newspaper in Luxembourg - ran an article saying that Vietnam has become an attractive trade partner globally. Under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the Southeast Asian nation has opened up to the world under reform orientation since late 1980s and has become an important economy not only in the region but also in the world.

According to the article, in terms of foreign policy, Vietnam wants to have friendly relations with all countries, while in terms of foreign relations, Vietnam relies on independence, and supports bilateral partnerships and multilateralism. Due to geopolitical uncertainties in the world, Vietnam is increasingly sought by Western companies as a new partner, including Luxembourg. The European Union-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) has brought many new opportunities for Luxembourgish businesses that operate in the service and financial sectors. Currently, many Luxembourg enterprises are operating in Vietnam.

The article also highlights positive trade relations between Luxembourg and Vietnam in recent years including bilateral trade reaching more than 160 million euros (about 179 million USD) in 2022, up from 120 million euros in 2020.

In another article published by the newspaper, it is said that during Prime Minister Bettel's visit to Vietnam, the two sides signed many bilateral cooperation agreements, including those on aviation cooperation, the extension of an agreement to avoid double taxation, and cooperation against climate change through green funds. Luxembourg Agency for Development Cooperation (LuxDev) will launch two projects worth 2 million euros in Vietnam. Luxembourg-based airline Cargolux will soon receive a license to fly to Ho Chi Minh City besides Hanoi.

The article quotes Prime Minister Bettel as expressing optimism about the possibility that Luxembourg tourists in the future can enter Vietnam without a visa when the National Assembly of Vietnam considers extending the visa-free policy at its meeting late this month.

Luxembourg's online newspaper virgule.lu has just published an article about the prospect of Vietnamese electric vehicles entering the country's market. The article said Prime Minister Bettel and Minister for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and Minister for Tourism Lex Delles visited Vinfast's facility and experienced test driving its electric vehicles.

Other Luxembourg newspapers such as Today.RTL.lu, diegrenzgaenger.lu also reported on Bettel’s visit to Vietnam./.