A conference being held in Germany’s Cologne city on November 18 to solicit investment in Long An Province. — VNA Photo

COLOGNE – Long An Province is an attractive destination for German investors in renewable energy and automation, a roundtable conference in Germany’s Cologne city has heard.

Huỳnh Văn Sơn, deputy chairman of the province People’s Committee, said that co-operation between Long An and Germany has a lot of room for growth since many German businesses excel that align with the province's focus on sustainable development.

It wants to do business with German automobile, industrial machinery, medical equipment, logistics, renewable energy, and financial services companies, he added.

Frank Memig, deputy managing director of IHK Cologne, said the 2020 EU-Việt Nam Free Trade Agreement has strengthened trade ties between Việt Nam and Germany.

Cologne is an important European transport hub and also for many key German industries such as car manufacturing, food processing and chemical production, he said.

IHK is interested in facilitating German investment in Long An Province, he said.

Đặng Thị Thanh Phương, Việt Nam’s trade counselor in Germany, said Long An is a great investment destination for German companies thanks to its location in the Mekong Delta, abundance of skilled workers, favourable policies for investors, and agricultural strengths, she said.

Peter Komppala, chief representative of AHK Vietnam, said Việt Nam’s commitment to net zero emissions by 2050 is an impressive target and an opportunity for German businesses in the fields of green energy, sustainable development, automation, 4.0 technology, and workforce training.

The province has proposed establishing the Long An – Cologne Industrial Park and called for German investment in it.

At the conference, agreements were signed between a German energy and infrastructure business and a Vietnamese renewable energy project and by a German company to build a packaging manufacturing plant in a Long An industrial park.

Long An has 10 German projects with a total investment of around US$66 million, including industrial gas company Messar Group.

It has received investment of $12.5 billion from 41 countries, making it among the top 10 Vietnamese FDI destinations. – VNS