It is forecasted that in 2025 and the following years, cooperation in trade, investment, economy, industry, energy, renewable energy, logistics, etc. will be promoted when the CEPA process opens.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a very important market and partner of Vietnam in the Middle East.

The year 2024 has witnessed positive developments in the cooperation between the two countries, with more and more large UAE enterprises wishing to cooperate with Vietnamese partners.

This is the comment of Vietnamese Ambassador to the UAE Nguyen Thanh Diep when answering an interview with VNA reporters in the Middle East and North Africa about the outstanding results in the cooperation between the two countries in 2024 as well as prospects for 2025.

Ambassador Nguyen Thanh Diep pointed out that the outstanding result in 2024 was the successful official visit of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh to the UAE in October 2024, opening a new development phase in economic, trade and investment cooperation.

The two sides have upgraded their relationship to a comprehensive partnership; signed the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), striving to soon bring the trade turnover between the two countries to 20 billion USD, opening up the potential to increase Vietnam's trade turnover with the Middle East.

Regarding trade, the total two-way trade turnover in 2024 is estimated to reach over 6.02 billion USD, a sharp increase of 28.33% compared to 2023. Vietnam's exports to the UAE in 2024 will increase sharply, with Vietnam's trade surplus with the UAE estimated at 4.48 billion USD.

The two sides signed 13 investment and business agreements, including an agreement between Viettel Group and G42 Group on cooperation in developing data centers, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and energy conversion; an agreement between Viettel and Presight Group on cooperation in the field of AI; an agreement between Vietnam Airlines and Etihad Airways on cooperation in the field of aviation; an agreement between Vietnam Airlines and Emirates Airlines on cooperation in the field of aviation; an agreement between VIMC and DP World Group on cooperation in developing Can Tho Port, exploiting inland waterways and developing logistics systems; an agreement between VinGroup and Benya Group on cooperation in developing data centers.

The two sides also signed an agreement between VinGroup and NDMC Group on cooperation in developing data centers; an agreement between VinGroup and Abu Dhabi Port on cooperation in developing logistics ecosystems and port systems; an agreement between Vinfast and Emirates Driving Company on cooperation in producing electric vehicles; an agreement between Sovico Group and Abu Dhabi Port on logistics, free trade zones and port services; an agreement between Vietjet Air and Emirates Airlines on cooperation in the aviation sector; an agreement between T&T Group and Golden Nile on finance, agriculture and services; an agreement between FPT Group and G42 Group on information technology.

Promotional activities, advertising, and support for localities and businesses to diversify markets have also been enhanced.

Many delegations of ministries and local departments of the two countries visited each other, enhancing understanding and promoting relations. The two countries organized Business Forums in the UAE and Vietnam with the participation of hundreds of businesses.

Vietnamese businesses actively participate in the Vietnamese Goods Week at Lulu Hypermarket (Dubai), the world's largest food fair Gulfood (February 2024) and the Natural-Organic Products Fair (November 2024).

Regarding the prospects for cooperation in 2025, Ambassador Nguyen Thanh Diep commented that after Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's visit to the UAE, the UAE side is increasingly interested in and wishes to promote relations with Vietnam.

The UAE Ministry of Investment and a number of large UAE corporations have planned to visit Vietnam to promote cooperation in various fields. The signing of the CEPA, the first free trade agreement that Vietnam has negotiated with an Arab country in the Middle East-Africa region, will open up great prospects and a new phase of joint strategic cooperation in many fields between Vietnam and the UAE.

It is forecasted that in 2025 and the following years, cooperation in the fields of trade, investment, economy, industry, energy, renewable energy, logistics, agriculture and infrastructure, high technology, digital transformation, green transformation, innovation, labor cooperation, etc. will be promoted when the CEPA process opens. Cooperation in security, defense, culture, education, tourism, and people-to-people exchange will continue to develop strongly, commensurate with the comprehensive partnership between the two countries.

Regarding the UAE, Ambassador Nguyen Thanh Diep said that this is a special market. Because domestic production cannot meet consumption, the UAE is almost entirely dependent on imported goods to serve domestic demand and re-export. This opens up opportunities for Vietnamese products.

According to the Ambassador, the UAE market is very competitive. Vietnam has some difficulties and disadvantages compared to other countries, such as higher transportation costs due to the long distance as well as differences in demand, culture, language, consumer tastes and business practices. Moreover, most of Vietnam's food and beverages do not have Halal certification. The influence of South Asian countries such as India and Pakistan is very large, as these two countries have many citizens in the UAE and share many things in common with the UAE.

Currently, the retail system in the UAE is mainly dominated by Indians and South Asians. In that context, Ambassador Nguyen Thanh Diep has proposed a number of solutions for Vietnamese enterprises to best exploit the advantages of CEPA and penetrate the UAE market.

Specifically, Vietnamese enterprises need to research and grasp the market, consumer needs, culture and customs, identify customer groups, choose products suitable for each group, focus on products with high differentiation and competitive advantages, and meet the tastes of UAE people to create products with Vietnamese brands.

Enterprises also need to understand legal regulations, business practices, import and export regulations, product quality, preferential policies and support for foreign enterprises, customs documents and international certificates, ensuring that products meet the requirements of competent authorities.

The Ambassador believes that businesses need to increase product promotion by participating in major international fairs and exhibitions in the UAE such as Gulfood, Arab Health, or GITEX... to reach potential partners and introduce products to a large number of customers. Because the UAE has a very high rate of Internet and social network usage, businesses need to take advantage of technology and online marketing to promote their brands and reach potential customers.

In addition, businesses need to continuously improve the quality of products and services to meet market demands, promote innovation and creativity, update new trends; develop distribution and logistics networks, optimize to reduce costs and transportation times, and enhance competitiveness in the context of the UAE market which is fiercely competitive, dynamically developing and rapidly developing.

The Ambassador emphasized the importance of persistently building long-term relationships and building a strong network of partners and customers, because the UAE has a business culture that places great emphasis on personal relationships./.