Finland Vietnam cooperation spotlights 2020-2021

By Hang Do

Finland Vietnam cooperation highlights will give you an overall picture of the cooperation relationship and business opportunities for both parties.

Summary

13/02/2021 Further strengthening Finland Vietnam cooperation
21/01/2021 Signing framework agreement for public projects under Finland's Public Sector Investment Facility (PIF) scheme
22/12/2020 Finland Vietnam development cooperation after signing of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (FTA)
17/12/2020 "Developing the water and sanitation sector in Vietnam through new partnerships"
9/12/2020 Online Vietnam-Finland trade conference
03/12/2020 Strategic cooperation in natural resources and environment between Finland and Vietnam

13/02/2021 Further strengthening Finland Vietnam cooperation

Finland’s Ambassador to Vietnam Kari Kahiluoto highlighted three key points in the Finland Vietnam cooperation relationship: education, hightech and water. These has been reflected in the growing number of Vietnamese students to Finland; successful implementation of the Innovation Partnership Programme (IPP), and water projects in Hanoi respectively.

21/01/2021 Signing framework agreement for public projects under Finland's Public Sector Investment Facility (PIF) scheme

“A framework agreement signed between the two countries has taken bilateral relations to a new level” – Finland’s Ambassador to Vietnam Kari Kahiluoto.

PIF is one of the finance instruments of Finland’s development cooperation policy for developing countries. The purpose is to support the public sector investments in those countries. The investments should comply with the sustainable development goals of the UN and utilise Finnish expertise and technology. More about PIF here.

Vice Minister of Finance Tran Xuan Ha and Finland’s Ambassador to Vietnam Kari Kahiluoto signed a framework agreement. Accordingly, public projects in Vietnam can access concessional loans from Finland’s Public Sector Investment Facility (PIF) scheme and Finnish companies will have opportunities to access Vietnamese market more effectively.

22/12/2020 Finland Vietnam development cooperation after signing of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (FTA)

Vietnam is the EU’s second largest trading partner in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) after Singapore. The effectivity of the EU-Vietnam FTA from 1st August 2020 has opened opportunities for both European companies and Vietnamese people.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh and his Finnish counterparts Pekka Haavisto had a phone talk to further strengthen the mutual cooperation. The key sectors are training and education, technology and science, development cooperation, and environment, etc. According to Minister Pham Binh Minh, Vietnam is committed to be a trustworthy bridge between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the EU.

17/12/2020 "Developing the water and sanitation sector in Vietnam through new partnerships"

The webinar was co-organized by Vietnam Water Supply and Sewerage Association (VWSA), Finnish Water Forum (FWF) and Informa Markets Vietnam. This project started in 2017 and was funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland and FWF with a total budget of 454,118.00 euro. According to the project result evaluation, it has created positive impacts, strengthened Finland-Vietnam cooperation in water sector, and in line with the UN’s sustainable goals.

In addition, there were keynote speakers from Finnish and Vietnamese companies and organizations.

9/12/2020 Online Vietnam-Finland trade conference

The conference was co-organized by Investprocen, Embassy of Finland to Vietnam, FinnPartnership, United Nations Technology Innovation Labs (UNTIL) and Fingo. There were more than 60 companies from Finland and Vietnam. This has shown great interest of Finnish companies in the Vietnamese market.

In 2019, Vietnam exports to Finland was 120 million USD, and imports 247 million USD. Export goods included coffee, rubber, shoes, textile, handicraft articles, wooden products, etc. Import goods from Finland included equipment and machinery, media communication broadcasters, textile additives, electricity devices and accessories, plastic raw material.

03/12/2020 Strategic cooperation in natural resources and environment between Finland and Vietnam

Minister of Natural Resources and Environment of Vietnam Tran Hong Ha and Finnish counterparts Krista Mikkonen had a virtual meeting about bilateral cooperation framework as well as environment protection, climate change, plastic pollution, etc. The two ministers discussed about circular economy and Finnish support to boost circular economy in Vietnam, Public Investment Fund (PIF) – Bilateral Framework Agreement, Disaster Risk Reduction in Vietnam, nature recovery and COP26 – Climate Change Conference; urban wastes and waste to energy – Finnish solutions, Nordic council of ministers of plastic pollution prevention, etc.

Sources:

Interested in entering Vietnamese market?

BiziVietnam provides consulting services of doing business in Finland and Vietnam, and organize delegation visits.