Chairman of the HCM City People’s Committee Phan Văn Mãi (right) and Israeli Minister of Economy and Industry Nir Barkat had a meeting on Monday. — VNA/VNS Photo Xuân Khu

HCM CITY — Chairman of the HCM City People’s Committee Phan Văn Mãi received visiting Israeli Minister of Economy and Industry Nir Barkat on Monday, noting that Israel is a partner that his city wishes to learn from and cooperate with in the fields of innovation and technology.

The host official said HCM City hoped to be the locality that implements cooperation between the Vietnamese and Israeli Governments, especially in the two above realms.

The southern economic hub of Việt Nam was working to become an innovation centre in the region, he noted, adding that it has sufficient space and room to develop connections in technology, startup, and innovation with Israeli partners.

Mãi suggested that on the basis of the Governments’ cooperation, an agreement on innovation partnership be built between HCM City and Israeli partners.

The two sides could also promote investment and trade ties while working together to transfer agricultural techniques and technologies, along with new solutions and technologies for climate change response, he added.

For his part, Barkat said he was impressed with the dynamic development of Việt Nam, including HCM City.

He held that the recent signing of the Việt Nam-Israel free trade agreement would open up many opportunities for mutually beneficial development cooperation, particularly in the areas Israel is strong at such as startup, innovation, and technological solutions to global issues like high technology development, agriculture, climate change, and urban governance.

HCM City in particular and Việt Nam in general should build startup and innovation support centres to attract startups, the minister went on, adding that Israel is ready to share its experience in this regard and other fields of its strength such as hi-tech farming and technological solutions.

He also expressed his hope that the city would enhance cooperation with Israeli partners, assist Israeli businesses in marketing and distributing technological products and solutions, and increase bilateral trade, especially in the goods his country has high demand for such as farm produce and consumer products. — VNS