Building a solid bridge for Vietnam - Lithuania business cooperation

VCCI President Pham Tan Cong met with Mr. Darius Indriunas, Lithuania's Deputy Minister of Economy and Innovation, and Mr. Julijus Glebovas, Lithuania's Deputy Minister of Transport, during the official visit of Mr. Gitanas Nausėda, the President of the Republic of Lithuania, and his spouse to Vietnam at the invitation of Vietnamese President Luong Cuong.

The two sides discussed bilateral cooperation and ways to integrate the two countries' business communities, particularly in fintech, high technology, agribusiness, life sciences, and innovation.

The Lithuanian Deputy Minister of Economy and Innovation expressed a desire to strengthen trade and investment ties with Vietnam, a critical partner in the ASEAN and Asia-Pacific regions.


Mr. Indriunas noted that, despite its small population, Lithuania serves as a critical gateway for Vietnamese firms into the Baltic market and, more broadly, the European Union (EU) market.

Notably, Mr. Idriunas gave numerous particular cooperation suggestions to the Vietnamese business community. In particular, he cordially invited VCCI and Vietnamese enterprises to attend a series of key startup and science events in Lithuania to boost technical cooperation and potential M&A negotiations.

Furthermore, he stated a desire to work closely with Vietnam in areas where the country does well, such as fintech, digital transformation, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and developing high-quality human resources in technology. These sectors are also among Vietnam's key goals for increasing its economic competitiveness.

“Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania to the Republic of Singapore, which is also in charge of Vietnam, will coordinate more closely with VCCI in organizing trade promotion, online business networking as well as business trips between the two sides to help businesses of the two countries get closer to investment opportunities in each other's markets”, said Mr. Idriunas.

In response to Lithuania's proposal, VCCI President Pham Tan Cong expressed his great support and appreciation for Lithuania's proactive spirit of cooperation. "VCCI is ready to act as a bridge between the business communities of the two countries and will provide information on investment opportunities and potential partners in Vietnam to the Embassy of Lithuania to Singapore, which is also in charge of Vietnam," said Mr. Pham Tan Cong.

The VCCI President also stated that connecting and leveraging cooperation opportunities with innovative economies such as Lithuania is critical in the light of Vietnam's deep integration.

"In the coming time, the two sides will boost business trips to promote trade and investment and to cohost forums and seminars in online and in-person formats to maintain regular connections and strengthen substantive cooperation," proposed VCCI president.

Currently, Vietnam and Lithuania's two-way trade turnover is not commensurate with their potential, and enterprises on both sides have yet to take use of EVFTA. As a result, VCCI President suggested that the two nations' business communities expand collaboration in sectors such as information technology, digital transformation, energy, climate change response, agricultural education and training, and so on.

The two sides also agreed to maintain an open discussion channel and pursue practical cooperation projects by signing a Memorandum of Understanding at the Vietnam-Lithuania Business Forum, which would help to improve the two countries' relationship in the future.