Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính (right) held a reception on May 29 in Hà Nội for Sheikh Nasser bin Suliman Al Harthi, Deputy President for Operations of Oman Investment Authority (OIA). — VNA/VNS Photo Dương Giang

HÀ NỘI — Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính proposed Oman raise the scale of the Việt Nam–Oman Investment (VOI) Fund to US$1 billion, while receiving Sheikh Nasser bin Suliman Al Harthi, Deputy President for Operations of Oman Investment Authority (OIA) in Hà Nội on Thursday.

PM Chính hailed the OIA Deputy President’s working visit in the context of increasingly strengthened and flourishing Việt Nam–Oman relations across many fields, especially in investment and economic cooperation.

Describing Oman as one of the leading potential partners in the Middle East region, he expressed his delight at the positive results of cooperation between Việt Nam and the Arabian country, underlining that there remains considerable room for expanding bilateral collaboration.

The PM noted that at the recent 2nd ASEAN–Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit, he met and exchanged views with the GCC Secretary-General and leaders of the Gulf nations. Both sides highly agreed to promptly start negotiations on a Việt Nam–GCC free trade agreement, study investment protection agreements, and promote cooperation in different fields such as digital transformation, renewable energy, financial centres and green economy, high-tech agriculture, and Halal food.

The Vietnamese leader acknowledged and highly valued the pioneering, effective, and strategic role of the Việt Nam– man Investment Fund during more than 17 years of operations in Việt Nam. The fund demonstrates a long-term vision, sustainable investment thinking, and a commitment to accompanying Việt Nam's socio-economic development with a selective, focused, and transparent investment approach.

Emphasising that these investments have not only created economic values but also contributed to improving public services, social infrastructure development, and enhancing people’s quality of life, the PM proposed Oman expand and raise the scale of the fund to $1 billion to better support Việt Nam's investment and development needs, in line with its economy’s scale and with interest rates suitable to Việt Nam's conditions.

PM Chính suggested the fund not only support and invest in strategic fields such as infrastructure transport, clean water, renewable energy, healthcare, education, and consumer finance, but also participate in supporting Việt Nam's private economic development, as well as agriculture and the Halal food sector. He expressed confidence that with strategic partners like Oman, the two countries will build a deeper, more effective, and sustainable cooperation relationship.

For his part, Suliman Al Harthi emphasised Oman’s focus on enhancing cooperation with Việt Nam, especially in investment – a highly potential and bright area in the bilateral relations in recent times.

The OIA Deputy President said that the OIA has collaborated with the State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC) to establish the Việt Nam new era growth fund with a minimum capital of $200 million. He confirmed that the fund will prioritise investment in potential sectors such as technology, telecommunications, finance, Halal agriculture, and digital transformation in Việt Nam, contributing to strengthening trade exchange between the two countries.

Agreeing with PM Chính’s proposal, especially on raising the VOI’s scale, Suliman Al Harthi said Oman can become a gateway for Việt Nam to penetrate the Middle East market.

The OIA commits to further strengthening cooperation with Vietnamese partners, ready to play a bridging role in promoting economic and investment cooperation between the two countries, encouraging more Oman and Middle Eastern enterprises to explore cooperation opportunities in Việt Nam, as well as calling on Vietnamese businesses to leverage Oman’s port system to boost exports to the Middle East region, he added. — VNA/VNS