On September 6, in Ha Noi, as part of his official visit to Viet Nam, Myanmar President Min Aung Hlaing and Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Van Thang attended the Myanmar - Viet Nam Business Forum.

High priority given to promoting Myanmar - Viet Nam trade and investment

Addressing the forum, President Min Aung Hlaing said the event provided a valuable opportunity to consolidate the friendship and promote bilateral trade and investment.

According to President Min Aung Hlaing, diplomatic relations between Myanmar and Viet Nam were officially established on May 28, 1975, and have now entered a “golden period” of development.

“Today, cooperation between the two countries is no longer limited to politics and diplomacy but has expanded and deepened into various areas, including security, defence, economy, trade and investment,” the Myanmar President said.

Economic and trade cooperation reflects significant potential for the future development of both countries. Viet Nam is currently one of Myanmar’s important trading partners. In 2025 - 2026, bilateral trade reached more than USD 510 million.

Investment is not only an important driver of each country’s development but also plays a key role in consolidating and strengthening bilateral relations. Viet Nam is currently a major investor in Myanmar, with total registered investment capital of more than USD 2.53 billion across more than 30 projects that remain operational.

President Min Aung Hlaing cited Viettel’s project as a prominent example of successful investment cooperation between the two countries. The project, a joint venture between Viettel and a Myanmar company, began operations in 2018.

Mytel has played an important role in Myanmar’s telecommunications sector and serves as a notable model of investment and technology cooperation between the two countries.

“We sincerely invite Vietnamese businesses to take advantage of regional trade agreements and cooperate with Myanmar partners to invest in agricultural processing plants, cold storage facilities, logistics, food and seafood processing, as well as agricultural inputs, thereby participating in the global food value chain,” President Min Aung Hlaing said.

Myanmar welcomes and calls for cooperation with Viet Nam in developing digital infrastructure, cybersecurity, digital transformation, public services, information technology, digital payment systems and an innovative business environment. Myanmar also invites Vietnamese investors to participate in the production of technology equipment in high-tech zones.

President Min Aung Hlaing affirmed his commitment to providing the most favourable conditions for Vietnamese investment projects in Myanmar, while giving high priority to promoting and expanding trade and investment between the two countries.

He said the forum was not only meaningful in itself but would also contribute to building a comprehensive and trusted partnership for future generations. He expressed his confidence that the two sides would work together to build a bright future based on mutual respect, technology-driven development and shared benefits for the people of both countries.

Leveraging resources to drive the growth of both economies

Addressing the forum, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Van Thang expressed his “delight at the active participation of businesses and business associations from both countries – those who are directly turning agreements and commitments between the two Governments into reality; transforming the potential for cooperation between the two countries into concrete projects, creating products and jobs, generating tangible value for the people, and making the comprehensive cooperation between the two countries increasingly substantive and effective.”

“I highly appreciate the substantive opinions put forward by businesses, which reflect the spirit of the forum as an opportunity for the two Governments to directly listen to the business communities’ reports on investment, production and business activities, difficulties and obstacles, proposals and recommendations, as well as plans to expand investment in the coming period,” the Deputy Prime Minister said.

“From there, we can work together to expand the space for cooperation and leverage our resources to support the self-reliant and resilient development of each country, contributing to the implementation of agreements reached by the senior leaders of the two countries,” he said.

The Deputy Prime Minister also highly valued the contributions made by the business communities of both countries, particularly Vietnamese enterprises that have chosen Myanmar as a long-term destination for investment and business.

He noted that these enterprises have achieved results not only in trade and investment but also in areas directly linked to the development needs of the economy and people’s livelihoods, ranging from telecommunications technology to the production of essential goods and agriculture.

On the occasion, on behalf of the Government of Viet Nam, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Van Thang thanked the Government of Myanmar and President Min Aung Hlaing personally for their attention and support in creating favourable conditions for Vietnamese businesses to develop in Myanmar.

According to the Deputy Prime Minister, the Business Forum takes place as bilateral relations are entering a new stage of development, with political trust being strengthened and opening up major opportunities for the two countries to advance comprehensive, substantive and effective cooperation across various fields.

Regarding specific areas of bilateral cooperation, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Van Thang said the two sides should further strengthen connectivity and complementarity between their economies, while creating a stable and transparent legal framework and a favourable environment to enhance domestic capabilities and build independent and self-reliant economies.

The two sides should strengthen the exchange of experience to further improve the investment and business environment, enhance competitiveness and increase their attractiveness in attracting high-quality foreign investment to support rapid and sustainable development.

“Viet Nam stands ready to share experience in ensuring economic security, promoting sustainable growth, particularly policies on macroeconomic and financial stability, as well as the development of the sharing economy,” the Deputy Prime Minister said.

He also called for greater effectiveness from bilateral cooperation mechanisms, including the Joint Committee on Bilateral Cooperation and the Subcommittee on Trade. Ministries and agencies of the two countries should provide timely and effective advice to their respective governments on cooperation orientations and address difficulties and obstacles facing businesses.

Viet Nam and Myanmar investors should adhere to the principles of cooperation, not merely seeking business opportunities but becoming reliable, long-term partners accompanying the development of each country.

They should also uphold social responsibility, create stable employment and incomes for local people, contribute to environmental protection and effectively implement social welfare policies.

Vietnamese businesses should further strengthen their sense of responsibility and expand investment in sectors where Myanmar has demand, including telecommunications, digital transformation, agriculture, education and training.

At the same time, the Deputy Prime Minister expressed his hope that the President, Government and relevant agencies of Myanmar would continue to provide attention and create a favourable, stable and predictable investment and business environment, while helping resolve legitimate difficulties and obstacles faced by Vietnamese businesses.

For its part, Viet Nam always welcomes Myanmar businesses and is committed to creating the most favourable conditions for them to invest and expand their operations in Viet Nam, particularly in high-value-added sectors such as processing and manufacturing, high technology, logistics, high-tech agriculture and the digital economy.

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Van Thang stressed that Viet Nam -  Myanmar relations have been carefully nurtured by generations of leaders and people of the two countries.

“Our responsibility today is to continue making that relationship deeper, more substantive and more beneficial for the people of both countries,” the Deputy Prime Minister said.

“I believe that the economy and the business community can and should become one of the important driving forces for achieving that goal,” he added.

Every successful project, every production chain established, every product reaching consumers and every new job created not only contributes to economic growth but also creates another link between the interests and friendship of Viet Nam and Myanmar.

On the occasion, the Deputy Prime Minister delivered a message to the business community: “Let us work together to leverage our strengths, drive the growth of both economies and ensure that the people of both countries share in the fruits of cooperation and development.”

As part of the forum, business communities from the two countries signed and exchanged memoranda of understanding on cooperation in various fields.