Ho Chi Minh City has abundant trade and investment opportunities for foreign enterprises including those from the International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF), a city official said at the two-day Francophone Business Forum that wrapped up in Ho Chi Minh City last week.

Duong Anh Duc, deputy chairman of the city administration, made the statement at the forum jointly held by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the OIF last Wednesday.

He also emphasized that the southern economic hub of Vietnam could serve as a launching pad for enterprises of the French-speaking countries, or Francophones, to further join regional and global supply chains.  

As part of various activities scheduled during the ongoing visit by the Economic and Commercial Mission of La Francophonie (MECA) from March 21 to 30, the event attracted 102 international business people and economic entities from 24 countries and member governments of the OIF and more than 420 Vietnamese businesses.

The event focuses on three areas: agriculture and food processing, sustainable energy, and digital goods and services.

Duc also pointed out that OIF enterprises could leverage opportunities created by free trade agreements to which Vietnam is party, such as the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

Standing deputy chairman of the VCCI Hoang Quang Phong said Vietnam and other OIF member countries have reciprocal conditions for development together, the Vietnam News Agency reported.

The Francophone economic space offers a big market for Vietnam while the Southeast Asian nation can help enhance the connectivity within the OIF and form a closed-loop supply-consumption chain, spreading from Africa to Europe and North America, Phong elaborated.

The presence of a lot of business owners, startup entrepreneurs, and economic organizations from 24 OIF member countries at this forum has reflected their expectations for cooperation in Vietnam, OIF Secretary General Louise Mushikiwabo told the forum.

As its first stop of MECA before going to Hanoi and Phnom Penh (Cambodia), Ho Chi Minh City creates chances for OIF enterprises to visit industrial parks and companies in the energy and high-tech industries to set up business development connections, Mushikiwabo stated.

Hailing Vietnam’s dynamism, the OIF official said the country offers many opportunities to foreign businesses and investors.

The Vietnam visit by the Francophone delegation is part of the efforts to implement the Francophone Economic Development Strategy in 2020-25, the Vietnam News Agency cited Mushikiwabo as saying.

Vietnam has so far set up trade ties with 44 out of 54 OIF member countries, with trade turnover between Vietnam and OIF members reaching over US$20 billion in the 2017-21 period.

In regard to investment, 16 OIF countries had developed 1,450 projects worth nearly $16 billion in Vietnam as of 2021, while many of Vietnam’s state-run groups and private firms have also invested in Africa, mainly in oil and gas, telecommunications, hydroelectricity, and wood processing.

Established in 1970, the OIF now has 88 member states and observers, accounting for 16 percent of the global population and 16.5 percent of the world’s total assets.

As an OIF member in 1979, Vietnam has been an active and core member of the organization in Asia-Pacific.

The country hosted the Francophone Summit in 1997.

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