Can Tho city seeks French investment in agriculture

Officials of the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho introduced the local potential and advantages to French companies and called for investment, especially in agriculture, during a meeting on Monday.

They highlighted Can Tho’s potential of agricultural production such as rice, fisheries and fruit, along with hi-tech agricultural projects that need investment. They expressed their hope that French businesses would come to seek investment opportunities here.

Chairman of the Can Tho municipal People’s Committee Vo Thanh Thong said agriculture was a strength of his city as well as other Mekong Delta localities. Many products made in Can Tho such as agricultural and aquatic products, apparel and handicrafts had been imported by France and other European countries.

French firms should come to the city to invest in those areas in order to increase trade between Viet Nam and France, he noted.

There are six French-invested projects worth nearly US$6 million in Can Tho. Meanwhile, bilateral trade has been on an upward trend. The city earned about $31 million from exports, mostly aquatic products, garments and handicrafts, to France in 2016. Its imports from the EU nations include pharmaceuticals, fertilisers, and agricultural medicine, Thong added.

Can Tho had also carried out numerous co-operation activities in culture, education and healthcare with France. It expected bilateral relations to be intensified in the future, the official said.

Martine Fumey, vice chairwoman of the World’s No 1 Club, said the club gathered exporting companies in various industries of France, and they wanted to bolster the partnership with Vietnamese businesses.

Their visit to Can Tho this time was aimed at enhancing connections with local firms and seek investment opportunities, thereby gradually turning French enterprises into a key trade partner of the city, said Fumey, chairwoman of the Ares company, which specialises in security device production.

Jacques Aurin, secretary general of the club and president of the Baron de Madaillan AE company, said they were also interested in educational co-operation with Can Tho-based universities since education was the basis for economic development.

After the working session, the French delegation visited some rice, fishery and fruit processing companies in Can Tho.

Source VNS