MEKONG DELTA — The third annual CEO Forum Mekong Connect, which focuses on developing the economy of the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta and investment opportunities there, will be held in Bến Tre Province this month.

Its organisers, the Business Association of High Quality Vietnamese Goods, told a press conference in Cần Thơ city on Tuesday (October 10) that this year the event would have the theme, “Developing local resources in combination with technological strength.”

The forum will help connect the participating CEOs with local and foreign partners and international investors with delta authorities.

There will be nearly 30 international experts speaking about how to develop the delta’s resources through the use of technology, potential of renewable energy sources in the fight against climate change effects.

Vũ Kim Hạnh, chairwoman of the Business Association of High Quality Vietnamese Goods, said this year the forum would have around 500 Vietnamese and 100 foreign firms and 20 international business organisations.

At two-day event on October 25-26, there will be meetings and group discussions related to the main local resources -- such as coconut in Bến Tre, rice in Cần Thơ, fisheries in An Giang, and lotus in Đồng Tháp.

Each locality in the delta has various strengths but they have not been tapped properly due to shortcomings in processing and preservation capabilities and poor trade promotion, Hạnh said.

Nguyễn Hữu Lập, deputy chairman of the Bến Tre People’s Committee, said his province has more than 70,000ha under coconut, and Tiền Giang, Trà Vinh and Vĩnh Long too are large producers.

It is necessary to create links between delta provinces and enterprises to strengthen the coconut processing industry to make it more competitive and capable of taking on rivals from other countries in the region, he added. — VNS