The Vietnamese government hopes that Taiwan’s “new southbound policy” will increase Taiwanese investments in the nation as it boosts infrastructure development to support economic growth, Vietnam’s representative to Taiwan said.
The policy is mutually beneficial, Vietnam Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei Representative Tran Duy Hai said, and Vietnam is interested in establishing closer cooperation with Taiwan and attracting more investment from Taiwanese businesses.
Vietnam is especially seeking investment in infrastructure development and hopes to learn from Taiwan’s experience in building freeways, railways and metro systems as well as implementing high-tech farming, Tran said in an interview with the Central News Agency.
Photo: CNA
The policy is aimed at establishing closer economic ties with ASEAN members and India to reduce the nation’s economic dependence on China.
Tran said the policy has already encouraged more people from Southeast Asia to visit Taiwan by relaxing visa requirements for people in the region, adding that he expects visitor numbers to rise sharply.
The increased number of flights between Vietnam and Taiwan, at about 200 weekly, will boost mutual exchanges, Tran added.
Tran voiced a positive view of overall investment, trade and people-to-people relations between Taiwan and Vietnam.
Bilateral relations between the two nations have been improving since the 1990s and Taiwan is Vietnam’s fourth-largest source of foreign investment, with US$32 billion worth of investment, Tran said.
Taiwan is Vietnam’s fifth-largest trade partner, and bilateral trade last year reached US$12 billion and is continuing to rise, he added.
Taiwan is also home to the largest overseas Vietnamese population in the world, Tran said.
About 300,000 Vietnamese live in Taiwan, including 100,000 who are married to Taiwanese, 180,000 workers and 5,000 students; and about 30,000 Taiwanese live in Vietnam, including 6,000 businesspeople.
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