London (VNA) – The northern province of Hoa Binhintroduced its potential and strengths as well as investment opportunities toBritish investors at an investment, trade and tourism promotion conference inLondon on October 11.

Addressing the event, Vietnamese Ambassador to the UK NguyenHoang Long said that Hoa Binh, which borders the capital city of Hanoi, has afavourable location and abundant investment opportunities.

He suggested British investors seek opportunities inpartnering with Hoa Binh in the fields of exploring tourism, high-techagriculture, and tertiary education development, as well as resort real estate.

Bui Van Khanh, Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, said that Hoa Binh is focusing on four strategic areas for socio-economic development,including planning, infrastructure development, improvement of institutions and the investment and business environment, and human resources development.

He highlighted prioritised investment areas such as green,clean and high-quality agricultural production, agro-forestry-aquatic production and processing, resort tourism development, and ecological urban development.

The provincial leader underlined that Hoa Binh plans to furtherexpand its basic infrastructure system to facilitate investment activities,while providing preferential policies to investors, including exemption andreduction of land rent, and import-export taxes, and support in vocationaltraining.

Khanh called on British investors to invest in Hoa Binh inthe fields of agriculture, industry, services, tourism, and development research,pledging that the local administration always supports and accompanies them forthe benefits of both sides.

Chairman of the Vietnam Business Association in the UK (VBUK) PaulHoang said that the association is ready to connect Vietnamese and Britishpartners and support them in dealing with problems during the cooperation processsuch as differences in business culture.

Hoang Le Hang, First Secretary of the Vietnam Trade Officein the UK, said that Vietnam and the UK have enjoyed positive economicpartnership, with two-way trade reaching over 5.26 billion USD in the firstnine months of this year, representing a year-on-year rise of 0.8% amid globaleconomic downturn.

Particularly, a number of fruits of Hoa Binh have beensold in the UK, including Cao Phong orange, Cao Phong tangerine, Tan Lac red pomelo,Dien grapefruit, dragon fruit and about more than 100 local specialty products,she noted.

The conference was part of a programme of Hoa Binh to promotetrade and exports in the UK market. On October 13, the province is scheduled tosign a memorandum of understanding with Longdan Group, a leading importer ofVietnamese products in the UK, on cooperation in exporting Hoa Binh products tothe European market.

Meanwhile, R.Y.B JSC – a pioneer in bringing Vietnamesefruits to the world - and Longdan Group will also sign a deal on the import-exportof Dien pomelo after the fruit was welcomed by consumers when it wasfirst exported to the UK in late last year.

Hoa Binh, a northwestern mountainous province, has a naturalarea of 4,590 sq.km and a population of nearly 950,000, which is home to sixethnic groups.

The province is adjacent to Hanoi and National High-TechPark, connecting the Northern Delta with the Northwest mountainous regions. Ithas a transport system connecting with Noi Bai international airport, ThoXuan airport in Thanh Hoa, Hai Phong seaport, and Huu Nghi international bordergate to China.

In 2022, the province’s growth rate reached 9.03%, while itsexport revenue hit 1.43 billion USD, and urbanisation rate was 33.5%.

Hoa Binh currently has eight industrial parks with a totalarea of over 1,500 hectares, along with 15 industrial clusters covering morethan 1,200 hectares. By 2025, the total area of local industrial parks andclusters is expected to account for 1% of the natural area of the province.

To date, the province has attracted 736 projects, including36 foreign-invested projects with combined capital of over 600 million USD./.