Ample room for stronger ties with Saudi Arabia and GCC countries

PM Chinh, his spouse, and a high-ranking delegation of Vietnam are paying official visits to the UAE and a working trip to Saudi Arabia to attend the eighth Edition of the Future Investment Initiative (FII) from October 27 to November 1.

These trips by the PM to the three Gulf countries will help to expand trade whilst boosting energy transition, sustainable growth, skilled labor co-operation, Halal industry development, agricultural, and aquatic product exports and tourism.

In a recent interview granted to a VOV correspondent in Cairo, asked about the significance and importance of the visit to Vietnam - Saudi Arabia ties, as well as Vietnam's relationship with the GCC countries, Ambassador Dung said, “Saudi Arabia is currently one of our leading important partners in the Middle East, especially in terms of trade and economy, with bilateral trade turnover reaching nearly US$2.7 billion in 2023.  The first nine months of 2024 saw two-way trade turnover hit US$2.21 billion, of which Vietnam enjoyed a trade surplus of over US$140 million.”

This visit by PM Chinh and his wife takes place on the occasion of both countries celebrating the 25th anniversary of diplomatic ties and it is also the second visit to Saudi Arabia made by the PM in two consecutive years.

This fact shows the special interest of the Vietnamese PM in promoting relations with Saudi Arabia in particular and with the Gulf countries in general, thereby demonstrating the growing expectations and interest of the Middle East nation towards Vietnam.

Relations between the nation and the Gulf countries have been promoted in a variety of areas in recent times, ranging from politics and diplomacy to investment, trade, and tourism. In 2023, the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the GCC Secretariat signed a co-operation memorandum of understanding (MoU), creating a foundation to further strengthen relations between the two sides moving forward.

The most important activity of PM Chinh in Saudi Arabia this year is to attend and speak at the eighth Future Investment Initiative (FII8) conference on the prospects of economic and investment co-operation between the country and the Middle East. Within the framework of this event, the PM is expected to meet with leaders of several countries, as well as receiving leaders of important ministries and agencies of the host country and major enterprises not only from Saudi Arabia.

The PM’s activities during the visit will focus on promoting investment, economic, and labour relations between the two countries. It is therefore expected that the two PMs will discuss expanding bilateral linkages in all areas, including economic ones such as expanding trade ties, labour co-operation, information and communication technology such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence (AI), digital transformation, people-to-people exchange, culture, and tourism.

During the visit, a number of MoUs and documents will be signed as a contribution to further fine-tuning the legal framework for bilateral relations. In addition, ministries, sectors and businesses of both sides will have many opportunities to work and connect with each other effectively and practically.

He also expressed his confidence that the visit made by the Prime Minister will open up many new directions of cooperation in bilateral ties in the coming time.

Regarding the prospects for the nation’s co-operation with Saudi Arabia and the GCC in the time ahead, Ambassador Dung said he believes that the relationship between the two countries still has a lot of room for stronger development. The signing of documents regarding energy, economics, and labour during this visit will create a legal framework for bilateral relations to develop more smoothly.

The specific agreements that have been and will be reached will help to increase the export turnover of agricultural products, aquatic products, food, garments, furniture, and handicrafts to the local market, especially superior and breakthrough technological products. Currently, more and more Vietnamese enterprises are going directly to the host nation to explore business opportunities, promote and introduce products, participate in international fairs and exhibitions, with plans to penetrate and consolidate market share in this potential market.

Concerning the prospects for future Vietnam - GCC co-operation, the Vietnamese diplomat said that both sides still have plenty of opportunities to boost ties across multiple fields, especially politics, trade, investment, tourism, and culture.

In the context that GCC countries are accelerating plans to diversify their economies to avoid over-reliance on oil and gas income, the nation has many opportunities to step up investment co-operation with countries in the region in potential fields such as green energy, renewable energy, information technology, AI, as well as increase the export of the nation's strengths such as agricultural and aquatic products, garments and textiles, computers, and electronic components.