Hanoi (VNA) - A shift to digital platforms is considere🔥d an effective means for businesses to expand export markets as Vietnam integrates more deeply into the global economy,Deputy Minister of 🍌Industry and Trade Cao Quoc Hung has said.

In his remarks at the 2020 Vietnam Online Import -Export Forum (VOIEF), co-hosted in Hanoi on July 28 by the Vietnam Chamber ofCommerce and Industry (VCCI) and the Vietnam E-Commerce Association (VECOM),Hung said the event was held in the context of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) being signed and creating a driving force for Vietnam’s economy and exportersin particular. The Vietnam E-Business Index 2020 report reveals that a number ofVietnamese companies have embarked on e-commerce to support exports and imports,under both the business-to-business and business-to-consumer models, he said. The comprehensive plan on national e-commerce development for the2021-2025 period and the national digital transformation programme to 2025 and visionto 2030 were approved by the Prime Minister in May and June and set digitaltransformation as an indispensable process in modernising distribution networks,improving business competitiveness, and developing domestic and foreignmarkets. Hung said digital transformation will help enterprises join new supplychains and replace old ones disrupted by COVID-19, as well as further diversifyexport markets and avoid any dependence on certain markets.  The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has committed to developingmore online level 4 public services, to be a pioneer in administrative reformand e-Government and better serve the public and businesses, he added. VCCI President Vu Tien Loc highlighted the cooperation between agenciesin running digital platforms as being a crucial point in ensuring exports and imports,in regard to self-certification of origin, customs, logistics, and bankingservices. On the occasion, the MoIT inaugurated a support platform for exports, at www.ECVN.com, featuring various functions and including a communityof exporters and importers to help companies seek online trade opportunities. Once the EVFTA takes effect, the platform is expected to fully supportonline trade promotions and link EU and Vietnamese companies together. In particular, it will help popularise trademarks and developgeographical indications for major Vietnamese exports to the EU such asapparel, footwear, aquatic products, coffee, rice, sugar, wood and woodenfurniture, fresh and processed vegetables, mobile phones, machinery, andcomputers. Vietnam’s exports hit 122.8 billion USD in the first half of this year amidthe chaos of the COVID-19 pandemic, up 0.2 percent year-on-year, while imports weredown 2.9 percent to 117.3 billion USD./.