The Việt Nam - Algeria Business Forum was held in Hà Nội on October 17. — Photo baochinhphu.vn

HÀ NỘI — The Việt Nam - Algeria Business Forum was an opportunity for Vietnamese and Algerian businesses to meet partners, as well as get more information about preferential policies in trade and foreign investment of the two countries.

Minister of Construction Nguyễn Thanh Nghị made the statement in the Việt Nam - Algeria Business Forum held in Hà Nội on October 17.

The forum attracted the participation of a large number of Vietnamese and Algerian businesses in many industries, including agriculture, service, food, energy, mining, fisheries, industry, construction, trade and medicine.

With this forum, businesses could identify prioritised sectors and potential projects to promote market research and cooperation in trade and investment, contributing to increasing trade and investment value between the two countries, according to Nghị.

He also said that over the past time, the Việt Nam - Algeria relationship continuously developed in all fields, including trade, investment, science and technology. Of which, trade and investment have played an important role in promoting comprehensive cooperation between Việt Nam and Algeria.

Algeria is an important partner of Việt Nam in the African market, and its fourth largest export market in Africa. According to Việt Nam's customs data, the trade turnover between Việt Nam and Algeria reached US$195.6 million in 2018.

Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the global economic downturn, the trade turnover has decreased in the past years.

This value reached $144.2 million in 2022, including $141 million of Việt Nam's exports to Algeria and $3.2 million of Việt Nam's imports from Algeria.

However, in the first nine months of 2023, the export turnover from Việt Nam to Algeria reached more than $170 million, an increase of more than 60 per cent over the same period last year.

Speaking at this forum, Algerian Minister of Industry and Pharmaceutical Production Ali Aoun agreed that the forum is an opportunity to strengthen economic cooperation and mobilise resources to overcome existing difficulties in the global market.

At the forum, the two sides presented opportunities and measures on encouraging investment and trade for the two countries' businesses, and at the same time proposed new forms of cooperation.

Minister Ali Aoun also announced Algeria's major directions to attract trade and investment. At present, Algeria is implementing a programme to boost economic growth by participating in the world's value chain.

Along with that, it is promoting cooperative relationships with partners in the industrial sector, technological transfer, and having many policies to encourage the development of industrial and mining sectors.

In addition, Algeria is interested in fields such as agricultural processing, renewable energy, housing, basic infrastructure and tourism. It has many policies to help businesses in these fields to develop.

Algeria has not had any investment projects in Việt Nam, while Việt Nam has only one investment project in the mining sector in Algeria with a fairly large capital of $1 billion.

Delegates participating in the forum expected that in the coming time, Việt Nam will have more incentives to attract investment from foreign investors, including Algerian businesses. — VNS