Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee Vu Dai Thang (right) and Bassam Tabajah, President of the Arab Business Council and Chairman and CEO of Freehand and TEGA.
On January 26, Vu Dai Thang, member of the Party Central Committee, Vice Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee and Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee, received and worked with a delegation of the Arab Business Council led by Bassam Tabajah, President of the Arab Business Council and Chairman and CEO of Freehand and TEGA.
At the meeting, Bassam Tabajah said Arab countries possess strong financial capacity and seek to invest in promising initiatives.
He noted that Arab investment channels fall into three groups, ranging from small-scale investments of around US$100 million to mid-scale investments of about $100 billion, while national-level projects can attract unlimited capital from royal family investment channels.
Based on this, he expressed a desire to receive more information from Vietnam in general and Hanoi in particular on potential investment opportunities.
Sharing insights from recent engagements with Vietnamese provinces and cities, he said Vietnam holds significant investment potential and expressed interest in learning more about effective investment channels in the capital.
Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee Thang said he was impressed by recent developments in the Middle East, particularly in infrastructure and new urban areas.
He noted that Vietnam's relations with Middle Eastern countries have continued to strengthen, with businesses from the region making meaningful contributions to Vietnam's development.
Bassam Tabajah, President of the Arab Business Council and Chairman and CEO of Freehand and TEGA (left), receives a souvenir from Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee Vu Dai Thang.
According to the chairman, many Middle Eastern enterprises have invested in Vietnam across sectors such as seaports, airports, science and technology and halal food production, with an increasingly diverse portfolio.
Highlighting Hanoi's strong investment potential, Thang said the city will restructure planning and develop rapid growth scenarios driven by science and technology, moving toward a multi-layered, multi-sector and multi-center city model.
In that context, Hanoi seeks additional resources and partners, including those from the Middle East, he said.
The chairman noted that in urban infrastructure, Hanoi aims to expand urban rail lines and develop segments of the North–South high-speed railway within the city.
The city also plans to develop airport systems, underground space, low-altitude space and promote high technology, especially artificial intelligence and the semiconductor industry, to better serve public needs.
He added that Hanoi holds strong potential to become a major regional financial center and welcomes Arab enterprises to consider investing in this field.
Thang affirmed that Hanoi consistently welcomes long-term investment from Arab partners and will provide strong support to deepen cooperation for mutual benefit.
During the meeting, both sides exchanged views on shared interests and the chairman addressed many questions raised by the Arab Business Council delegation.
Bassam Tabajah praised the information shared by Hanoi leaders and said Arab enterprises are particularly interested in detailed project-level information, especially regarding safety, stability and profitability criteria.
He expressed hope that the city will soon provide the necessary data to attract Arab investment and help ensure successful cooperation.
Chairman Thang said Hanoi already has relevant data and will share it with Arab partners, adding that both sides will continue discussions to identify concrete cooperation opportunities.
A group photo of the two delegations celebrate the success of the meeting.