Party leader meets leading Vietnamese, Myanmar firms

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong held a meeting with representatives of leading enterprises of Vietnam and Myanmar, in Yangon on August 26, as part of his State visit to Myanmar.

Overview of the meeting (Photo: VNA)

Addressing the event, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh, who is accompanying the Party chief, highlighted the success of the Party General Secretary’s visit, including the establishment of a comprehensive cooperative partnership, thus creating new opportunities for bilateral cooperation, especially in the fields of economy, trade and investment.

The Deputy PM noted that Vietnam has become the ninth largest trade partner and seventh largest foreign investor of Myanmar, with 59 projects worth US$1.42 billion in Myanmar. The direct air routes between the two countries have also helped to facilitate trade and tourism ties between the two sides.

However, he pointed out that two-way trade has reached just US$500 million, failing to match the two countries’ potential and strengths.

Deputy PM Minh stressed that Vietnam is working hard to reform its administrative procedures in order to create an optimal legal framework and infrastructure system for foreign investors, including those from Myanmar.

He held that the newly-established partnership between the two countries provides a basis for the formation of effective collaboration mechanisms, thus boosting bilateral investment ties.

Also on August 26, Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and Myanmar Vice President U Myint Swe cut the ribbon to inaugurate the headquarters of Telecom International Myanmar (MyTel) in Yangon, a joint venture of Vietnam’s Viettel Group and a Myanmar partner.

Following over 27 years of formation and development, the military-run Viettel Group has become a strong enterprise, making great contributions to the Vietnamese economy. Its revenue in 2016 hit US$11 billion with a profit of over US$2 billion.

The group is operating in 11 countries across three continents, covering a market of 320 million people, with annual revenue of over US$1.5 billion and growth of over 20 percent per year, creating jobs for over 11,000 labourers.

When officially inaugurated, MyTel will have the largest infrastructure system in Myanmar, with almost 7,200 BTS covering 90 percent of the Myanmar population.

On the occasion, the Party leader and Myanmar Vice President U Myint Swe witnessed the signing of a cooperation agreement between MyTel and the Ministry of Education of Myanmar, under which MyTel will provide Internet services to over 1,350 schools, while supplying them with computers and developing education management software for the schools.

(Source: NDO)