During the meeting with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, the leaders of the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) highly appreciated Vietnam's favorable investment environment and affirmed their readiness to expand investment in Vietnam.
On October 30, immediately after arriving in Doha for an official visit, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with Sheikh Bandar Al Thani, Chairman of the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and Governor of the Qatar Central Bank, as well as Sheikh Faisal Al Thani, Chief of Asia-Pacific & African Investments at QIA.
QIA is the sovereign wealth fund of Qatar, with estimated assets of approximately 475 billion USD as of 2023. QIA manages the Qatari government's oil and natural gas surplus.
Reviewing the relationship between Vietnam and Qatar, the Prime Minister noted that political trust is developing well, economic cooperation is being strengthened with ample room for growth, but investment cooperation between the two countries remains modest.
The Prime Minister encouraged QIA to consider boosting investment in Vietnam, focusing on strategic infrastructure projects (including hard infrastructure for transportation such as highways, high-speed railways, urban railways, subways, seaports, and transit airports; and soft infrastructure such as telecommunications, digital transformation, climate change response, social infrastructure, healthcare, and education). He also suggested investment in wind power, solar power, power storage, and power transmission projects.
Welcoming QIA’s delegation to Vietnam to discuss and explore specific national priority projects for investment, the Prime Minister urged the fund to select appropriate projects for investment and to increase policy consultations and recommendations.
The Prime Minister affirmed that the Vietnamese government is committed to protecting the legitimate rights and interests of investors, adding that Vietnam is promoting three strategic breakthroughs: building open institutions, developing strategic infrastructure, and training high-quality human resources.
Vietnam is also focused on improving the business and investment environment, reforming administrative procedures, and reducing logistics, input, and compliance costs to enhance product competitiveness. Additionally, Vietnam is developing social infrastructure to ensure welfare for investors and workers, and is training and improving workers' skills to support investors.
Mr. Sheikh Bandar Al Thani said that Vietnam is an emerging market with many investment opportunities (Photo: Doan Bac).
Mr. Sheikh Bandar Al Thani stated that Vietnam is an emerging market with many investment opportunities, noting that QIA's strategy is to increase investment in the Far East and East Asia, seeking locations suitable for long-term investment.
He expressed his appreciation for the information shared by the Prime Minister about Vietnam's investment environment and priorities, confirming that QIA is ready to expand its investments in Vietnam in the near future. He also noted that QIA will send a working delegation to Vietnam to promote specific projects, especially in the sectors highlighted by the Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister assigned the Ministry of Planning and Investment to be the focal agency to support and provide information to QIA on potential projects for future cooperation.
