Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc delivers an opening speech at the online Standard Chartered ASEAN Business Forum 2020 on Tuesday. — VNA/VNS Photo Thống Nhất

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam always welcomed international entrepreneurs and investors as the business investment environment in the country has been increasingly favourable and open.

Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc made the comments while delivering an opening speech at the online Standard Chartered ASEAN Business Forum 2020 on Tuesday, noting that Việt Nam currently has more than 32,000 FDI projects in operation with a total capital of more than US$380 billion from 140 countries and partners.

Towards ASEAN Vision 2025 and 2030, the Vietnamese Prime Minister shared ASEAN's strong decisions on economic co-operation.

He said that ASEAN countries would continue to unite, unify, maintain stability, affirm and promote ASEAN's central role in regional economic co-operation and prioritise co-operation with partner countries and other international businesses.

“While some multilateral forums, such as the WTO, are facing difficulties, the ASEAN Economic Community can be a ‘safe place’ for us to work together,” he said.

Phúc added that ASEAN would uphold the law, build stable and sustainable co-operation frameworks, especially for the development of the digital economy.

“ASEAN is competitive enough to attract a shift in regional supply chains,” he stressed.

He said that ASEAN was making efforts to invest in infrastructure, including hard infrastructures such as roads, seaports, airports, energy and telecommunications as well as and soft infrastructures such as improving legislation and reforming administrative procedures, emphasising the improvement of quality of human resources for effective investment and business.

The Vietnamese PM also noted that ASEAN would strive to narrow the development gap with a truly people-centered principle and community interests as the basis.

He affirmed that ASEAN attached great importance to the companionship between businesses and the governments and said that the initiatives and recommendations at the forum would be respectfully listened to and received.

The three-day forum, themed Unlocking the Region’s Potential, consisted of four sessions, in which speakers from the public and private sectors would discuss ASEAN's trade opportunities amid ongoing geopolitical challenges and strategies for joint ventures and drive growth - from leveraging the benefits of digitalisation to shifting supply chains and applying best practices to sustainability. The forum also draws senior leaders of businesses and organisations from Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and the United States into discussion sessions on emerging trends that may shape the future of the region.

Following PM Phúc’s speech, there was a discussion with the participation of Singapore's Senior Minister cum Social Policy Co-ordinating Minister, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Singapore Monetary Policy Chairman, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, Indonesian Minister of Co-ordination of Maritime Affairs and Investment, and Bill Winters, General Director of Standard Chartered Group. — VNS