Representatives of Hà Nội and Poland pose for a photo after signing an MoU in the capital city. — VNS Photo Minh Hương.

HÀ NỘI — Representatives of Hà Nội enterprises and their counterparts from Poland gathered in the capital yesterday to seek potential co-operation at a forum.

The Việt Nam - Poland Economic Development Cooperation Forum was held by the Hà Nội Association for Small and Medium Enterprises (Hanoisme) and Poland's Lower Silesian Agency for Economic Cooperation (DAWG).

According to a report by Hà Nội Department of Industry and Trade, as of October 2019, Poland had eight foreign direct investment projects in the city with total registered capital of US$134.83 million in realty, manufacturing and processing industry, information and communication.

The eight representative offices of Polish firms mostly worked in pharmaceuticals.

"The city’s total export turnover to Poland accounted for 2.5 per cent of total exports while Poland’s exports to Hà Nội accounted for 26 per cent of Poland's total export turnover to Việt Nam," Trần Thị Phương Lan, deputy director of Hà Nội Department of Industry and Trade told Việt Nam News.

Lan said Hà Nội's major exports included textiles, agricultural products, handicrafts and footwear, while imports from Poland included animal feed and pharmaceuticals.

DAWG's vice president Robert Iwan told the forum: “Though Việt Nam and Poland are both major producers and exporters in agriculture, our products are not duplicated but complimentary to each other,” adding that the “potential for co-operation of both sides is still huge, especially when the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) is about to come into effect.”

Lan also expressed the city's desire to learn from Poland.

“Hà Nội wants to learn from Poland, especially Lower Silesia’s experience of high-tech agricultural development.

"The co-operation will help local businesses build the value chain with advanced technology to meet the requirements of Polish and European markets,” she said.

Also at the forum, more than 50 local enterprises joined a B2B meeting between Vietnamese and Polish enterprises. 

Also at the forum, the Trade Promotion and Enterprise Support Center (part of Hanoisme), Greentour Hà Nội Company and Poland's Hotel Service 24 Company signed a memorandum of understanding for a trade promotion programme connecting enterprises from Hà Nội and Poland.

Mạc Quốc Anh, Hanoisme's vice president and general secretary, said the deal would help the business communities of both sides access market information, trade and investment preferential policies, and contribute to trade ties between the two countries.

“Hi-tech agriculture and sustainable energy are among the focuses of the city,” he said.

Trade and investment cooperation between Poland and Việt Nam has seen positive growth in recent years.

In 2018, two-way turnover between Việt Nam and Poland reached nearly $1.6 billion, up some 60 per cent compared to 2017.

By the end of September 2019, total import and export turnover of the two countries reached more than $1.3 billion of which, Việt Nam exported more than $1.1 billion and imported more than $207 million.

The Polish delegation will also meet with enterprises in Thái Nguyên and Bắc Giang provinces in the next two days.— VNS