ASEAN listened to Vietnam's solutions to help businesses recover soon after Covid-19

"ASEAN Economic Forum, Typical ASEAN Enterprises" took place in Hanoi on June 25, 2020.

Sharing with Vietnamese enterprises at the "ASEAN Economic Forum, ASEAN Typical Enterprises" held in Hanoi on June 25, 2020, Ms. Masriati Lita S. Pratama (Counselor of Indonesian Ambassador to Vietnam) said: “The Covid-19 epidemic has profoundly affected the ASEAN economy in general and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in particular. In the framework of the 36th ASEAN Summit, we are looking forward to hearing the solutions of the Vietnamese Government to domestic enterprises, as well as solutions to promote cooperation between enterprises of ASEAN member countries".

Ms. Masriati Lita S.Pratama also said: “Vietnam has successfully prevented the pandemic in a short time, but we always recommend that countries be careful, because the risk of recurrence in the region is very high. In parallel with the pandemic prevention, the government of Vietnam needs to support SMEs in finding new markets, partners and customers, because trade promotion activities are often very expensive and difficult to implement throughout if businesses do it alone.

“We really hope to successfully prevent the pandemic before the 3rd quarter of 2020 so that we can recover and catch up with Vietnam”, Ms. Masriati Lita S. Pratama emphasized.

Ms. Masriati Lita S. Pratama, Counselor of Indonesian ambassador to Vietnam interviewed by Vietnamese enterprises.

Also at the Forum, Mr. Tan Weining, Deputy Ambassador of Singapore in Vietnam highly appreciated the organization of the ASEAN Economic Forum today. Mr. Tan Weining said that this event represents a great effort of Vietnam in particular and the ASEAN community in general, in order to focus all necessary resources to save the economy, especially small and medium-sized enterprises. In the current context, the biggest challenge for small and medium-sized businesses is how to quickly transform their production and business models to adapt to the new environment. The inevitable and effective trend that is being strongly applied in the world is information technology. This is the key to help small and medium enterprises continue to exist and make profit, while the conversion costs are not too expensive.

“On the government side, we now focus on training and capacity building for business owners and workers to ensure they can adapt flexibly under different conditions”, said Mr. Tan Weining.

Mr. Tan Weining, Deputy Ambassador of Singapore in Vietnam highly appreciated the organization of the ASEAN Economic Forum.

Mr. Suresh Kaliyana Sundram, Economic Counselor Ambassador of Malaysia in Vietnam also highly appreciated Vietnam in fighting the Covid-19, creating trust for foreign investors. Mr. Suresh Kaliyana Sundram said: “We have to agree that the disruption of the global supply chain is seriously affecting both input and output of businesses, especially small and medium-sized enterprises. The positive point here is that in a short time, Vietnam has successfully prevented the Covid-19 pandemic and gained the confidence of foreign investors. We cannot deny that this will be an opportunity for Vietnam to be self-sufficient in supply as well as expanding its export market”.

Mr. Suresh Kaliyana Sundram, Economic Counselor Ambassador of Malaysia in Vietnam highly appreciated Vietnam in successfully stopping Covid-19.

Mr. Saithidet Inthaxom, Laos Economic and Trade Counselor in Vietnam hopes that Vietnam will also have reasonable solutions to support Vietnamese businesses operating in Laos. Mr. Saithidet Inthaxom said: “Vietnam is currently investing in about 400 projects in Laos and creating a lot of jobs for the people of our country. Vietnam's policies to support small and medium-sized enterprises will be extremely valuable lessons for the Laos’ Government to study and apply.

Mr. Saithidet Inthaxom, Laos Economic and Commercial Counselor in Vietnam shared with Vietnam Business correspondent.

“We hope that the Government of Vietnam's solutions will not only support domestic enterprises but also Vietnamese businesses operating in Laos. Only then can businesses of the two countries truly engage and develop sustainably. Through this, we would also like to express our sincere thanks to the Vietnamese Government for your time and assistance, without you, our country will face many difficulties”, Mr. Saithidet Inthaxom suggested.

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