HÀ NỘI — Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc encouraged the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) Investment Corporation of Dubai to expand investment in Việt Nam, while hosting the group’s Executive Director and CEO Mohammed Ibrahim Al Shaibani in Hà Nội on Monday.

Phúc said Việt Nam attached great importance to the sound friendship and multifaceted co-operation with the UAE, especially in economics.

He noted that the UAE is now the biggest trade partner of Việt Nam in the Middle East, with an annual bilateral trade value of around US$6 billion.

The PM believed that after its trip to Việt Nam, the Dubai investment firm would develop long-term investment plans in the country.

Shaibani said that following the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, in January 2019, the group started working with Việt Nam’s VinaCapital to plan a visit to the country to study co-operation opportunities.

The firm worked with authorities of Quảng Nam and surveyed some locations planned for implementing a large-scale resort and entertainment complex project in the central coastal province, which reaped good results, he said.

He added that his group wanted to seek reliable partners in Việt Nam for long-term business.

Việt Nam had many advantages to develop tourism, such as hospitable people and beautiful landscapes, he said.

To attract more international tourists, the Southeast Asian country should invest more in infrastructure development and increase the application of information technology in entry and exit management, Shaibani suggested.

The UAE has a large demand for labour, so he hoped to co-operate with Việt Nam to bring its workers to work in the Middle Eastern country, particularly in tourism services and hotels.

PM Phúc said Việt Nam has a favourable business environment with improved infrastructure, and the number of international tourists to the country has been on the rise.

The location that the group chose to carry out its project was near beautiful beaches, world cultural heritage sites, airports, seaports, and key national highways, so the possibility of success is very high, he said.

The PM expressed his willingness to co-operate with the UAE and the Dubai firm to bring Vietnamese guest workers to the country.

He emphasised that the Vietnamese government and ministries were interested in the group’s projects and hope it will expand investment in other fields, such as energy. — VNS