Forum discusses business cooperation, connectivity in northern region

Speaking at the event, Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung highlighted the importance of businesses to the Vietnamese economy.

Underscoring that the growth of the local business community in both terms of quantity and quality remains slow and they are facing difficulties in international connectivity, the minister called on participants of the forum to put forth measures to boost their capacity and competitiveness.

According to statistics from the organiser of the event – the Vietnam Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, due to COVID-19, in the first nine months of this year, more than 70,000 firms, mostly small- and medium-sized ones (SMEs) and business households, stopped operation, affecting over 31 million employees.

Participants focused on obstacles that have hindered the enforcement of the law on support for SMEs, while making recommendations on how to tackle hurdles faced by enterprises in production and trade hurdles and build links between big enterprises with their small and medium-sized counterparts.

Outcomes of the annual function were collected by competent agencies for submission to the Party, State, Government, and a number of ministries serving the making of laws and policies.