The Vietnamese Government also offered aid packages to enterprises and the unemployed. — VNA/VNS Photo

BRUSSELS — The portal of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber has run an article hailing Việt Nam’s consistent, drastic and effective measures against the COVID-19 pandemic, adding that the Vietnamese market remains attractive to Austrian firms.

The article said it is not without reason that the Austria’s IC- Steiermark Centre (ICS) has brought Việt Nam into a focus programme this year, on the back of its 2.9 percent economic growth, which could reach 5-7 per cent this year.

It quoted Austrian Commercial Counsellor in HCM City Dietmar Schwank as saying that Việt Nam has insisted on virus containment and wide quarantine for immigrants. Such policy has proven successful in both health and economic terms. Border closure, a 14-day quarantine without exceptions and a consistent anti-pandemic plan have helped Việt Nam curb the virus spread.

Meanwhile, failures in the tourism sector which experienced a boom with 18 million visitors in 2019 could be offset by public investment, manufacturing and domestic consumption.

Additionally, the Vietnamese Government also offered aid packages to enterprises and the unemployed.

In political and macro-economic terms, the author hailed Việt Nam as a stable country with its key policies of economic liberalisation, investment in infrastructure and foreign investment attraction. All factors have made Việt Nam attractive to Austrian companies.

According to the article, the European Union – Việt Nam Free Trade Agreement, which took effect in August 2020, has also brought advantages to bilateral cooperation. Việt Nam is now the largest trade partner of Austria in Southeast Asia, with imports from the latter amounting to nearly 1 billion EUR. New business opportunities could be identified in infrastructure, healthcare, energy, urban technology, environment, security, disaster management, hi-tech products and production machinery.

The ICS’s adding Việt Nam into its 2021 focus programme could open up a series of events such as seminars and trips to the country this autumn.

The centre said exporters and Austrian firms operating in mechanical engineering, food and pharmaceuticals will enjoy many chances when navigating the Vietnamese market. — VNS