Enterprise Ireland client companies sign contracts worth €7m during President Higgins’ State Visit to Vietnam

At the Presidential Palace in Hanoi yesterday, and in the presence of President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, and the President of Vietnam, Tr?n ??i Quang, a number of Enterprise Ireland client companies signed contracts worth €7m with Vietnamese partners and companies. The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Charles Flanagan TD, was also in attendance at the signing ceremonies which were organised by the Embassy of Ireland in Hanoi and Enterprise Ireland.
Companies who signed contracts included University College Cork; Anam Technologies; Escher Group, Novaerus, ECDL (ICDL Asia), and Mainstream Renewable Power.

Later this week President Higgins will visit Ho Chi Minh City, where Enterprise Ireland will host a business event and a number of signings between Irish companies and Higher Education Institutions and their Vietnamese counterparts.

Bilateral trade between Ireland and Vietnam has increased five-fold over the last eight years across a range of sectors, notably education, agri-food, aviation and ICT. Last year, over 60 Irish companies exported to Vietnam and 15 of them established a presence in the country, signifying the potential that exists to further increase the successful collaboration.

Vietnam has a population of over 90 million people, a growing middle-class and a young, dynamic workforce. The demand for new technologies and more sophisticated products and services provides significant opportunities for Irish companies with niche, high-added value offerings. The recently concluded EU Vietnam Free Trade Agreement, which will come into effect in 2018, will provide further opportunity for Irish exporters.

Welcoming the contract announcements Julie Sinnamon, CEO Enterprise Ireland said: “A key objective for Enterprise Ireland is to help companies scale their exports in global markets. The range of sectors represented in the contracts signed in Hanoi demonstrates the competence and innovation of Irish companies, and underpins the growing business links between Ireland and Vietnam. From education to energy, and ICT to aviation, highly innovative and ambitious Irish companies are competing for significant contracts in Vietnam, and winning. Enterprise Ireland looks forward to supporting our client companies in further developing these relationships and expanding market share in Vietnam and the wider ASEAN region, which will result in more job creation at home in Ireland”.