A training conference was held in Brussels on May 15 to promote Belgian businesses’ understanding of the business environment and culture of Vietnam.

The event, jointly held by the Vietnam Trade Office in Belgium and the Belgian Vietnamese Alliance (BVA), provided Belgian firms with basic things that they need to know when doing business in Vietnam and contacting with locals.

Davy Jacob, supply chain manager of LIBEERT chocolate company that is operating in the central city of Da Nang, said that Vietnam has an attractive investment environment for foreign investors.

The country’s fast economic growth with the rapidly growing middle class has created good chances for foreign investors, including those from Europe, he held, expressing his hope to further expand the firm’s operations in Vietnam.

Joke Pattyn from Facil, a logistics company, said that her company has provided automobile spare parts for Vietnamese automaker Vinfast for three years. She stressed a wish to get a deeper insight into the traditional business practices of Vietnamese people to become closer to local customers and build up more relations.

Commenting on the Vietnam-EU economic cooperation outlook, Tran Ngoc Quan, Vietnamese Trade Counselor in Belgium and the EU said that despite facing many difficulties, European firms still pin high hope on the Vietnamese market, especially in the fields of garment and textile, leather and footwear, and agriculture.

Particularly, the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), which took effect in August 2020, has provided preferential tax rates to Vietnamese goods exported to the EU, he said, holding that this is a great opportunity for Vietnam and the EU to promote bilateral trade as the EU is prioritising countries sharing a FTA with the union to overcome difficulties.

The EU’s compulsory regulations for imported products will take effect in the next 3-5 years, he noted, advising Vietnamese firms to meet the regulations by switching to green and clean production and sustainable development, thus clinching their position in the EU market.

VNA