Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Đỗ Thắng Hải (centre) and other officials at the teleconference on Thursday. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) affirmed its top priority now is assisting businesses in Việt Nam to achieve the “twin targets” of ensuring safety amid the COVID-9 pandemic and maintaining production to avoid disruptions to supply chains.

In a teleconference with Samsung Vietnam and its suppliers on Thursday, Deputy Minister Đỗ Thắng Hải said the MoIT is committed to continued coordination with other ministries, sectors, and localities to assist businesses and tackle bottlenecks to production activities by increasing manpower for production, easing restrictions on travel among provinces, boosting vaccination, and reducing input costs, expenses and taxes.

The event gathered representatives of the Korean-invested company and more than 20 suppliers in HCM City, Hà Nội, and the provinces of Bắc Giang, Bắc Ninh, Bình Dương and Đồng Nai.

The ministry will serve as a bridge linking businesses with the Government so as to update them about new support policies and incentives and deal with difficulties facing them in a timely manner, he added.

Hải expressed his hope that Samsung would keep working with the MoIT to build and implement larger and more intensive training programmes to promote Vietnamese firms' engagement in its supply chain, as well as global supply chains.

Choi Joo Ho, General Director of Samsung Vietnam, said the stability of suppliers plays a highly important role in global production chains, including that of Samsung Vietnam.

Noting the firm’s efforts in the face of the recent complex COVID-19 situation, he expressed his belief that with timely and active support from the MoIT, the difficulties facing enterprises would be tackled quickly, thus helping consolidate the business community's trust in the Government and creating a momentum for them to join the Government’s efforts to realise the twin targets.

At the meeting, Samsung Vietnam and its suppliers pointed out some problems they are facing amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

Hải directed agencies under the MoIT to promptly handle the issues raised by the firms, saying the ministry would work more closely with localities to create favourable conditions for suppliers of Samsung to maintain operations and gradually raise their output.

The MoIT and Samsung Vietnam shared the view that they would continue working together in joint programmes on training human resources, improving businesses, strengthening Vietnamese firms’ competitiveness, and increasing the number of Vietnamese enterprises serving as tier-1 and -2 suppliers of Samsung, thereby helping develop local supporting industries. — VNS