(HBO) - Hoa Binh participated in the annual programme serving the promotion of Vietnamese localities in the UK between October 8 and 14, organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to assist localities involved in enhancing their connection and cooperation with international partners. The Hoa Binh delegation, led by Vice Secretary of the provincial Party Committee and Chairman of the provincial People's Committee Bui Van Khanh, took the occasion to organised a host of investment, trade, and tourism promotion activities to introduce local investment climate, strengths, and potentials to UK investors and businesses.
The provincial delegation visits and learns about the Longdan Group’s distribution of Vietnamese products in the UK. Photo: Tuan Anh from the Hoa Binh Centre for Investment Promotion, Trade, and Tourism.
Numerous activities serving investment, trade, and tourism promotion
In addition to the general activities of the programme, the delegation engaged in various dialogues and meetings with organisations, companies, and investors. They participated in a forum on Vietnam - West Midlands connection as well as bilateral meetings with the Asian House organisation, the strategic, financial, and technological consulting company PwC, and the UK-ASEAN Business Council (UKABC).
They organised a workshop to promote the province’s investment, trade, and tourism, during which the provincial People's Committee and the Vietnam Business Association in the UK (VBUK) signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation to establish a sustainable, long-term, and mutually beneficial partnership. As per the pact, the VBUK will introduce Hoa Binh’s investment, trade, and tourism opportunities to its member businesses, support UK businesses investing in Hoa Binh or collaborating with local companies, and carry out charitable programmes and social welfare activities in the province.
Khanh said that Hoa Binh has already exported some agricultural products to the UK and they are well-received by the market. The signing of the MoU is essential, as it opens up more opportunities for Hoa Binh’s exports.
Enabling access to a demanding market of great potential
The delegation also had a working session with the Longdan Group – one of the leading Vietnamese enterprises in the UK concerning the import and distribution of Vietnamese products in the local market and Europe. At their meeting, the sides signed an MoU on cooperation to give boost to the trade and export of local specialties and goods produced under the OCOP (One Commune One Product) programmes. Longdan Group also inked a new contract with the R.Y.B. joint stock company to import a container of Dien pomelo from Hoa Binh to the UK in the 2023 crop.
Additionally, on the sidelines of the programme, the delegation ran exhibitions and presentations on Hoa Binh’s typical farm produce and 18 OCOP products, as well as the province's tourism strengths and potentials.
According to data from the Hoa Binh Provincial Party Committee, the industrial production index for the first six months of 2025 is estimated to have increased by 20% compared to the same period last year. This marks the highest year-on-year growth rate for this period since 2020.
In the first six months of 2025, Hoa Binh province’s export turnover was estimated at 1.145 billion USD, marking an 18.11% increase compared to the same period in 2024. Import turnover was estimated at $ 804 million, a 17.15% increase, which helped the province maintain a positive trade balance.
The lives of the ethnic minority farmers in Tan Lac district have gradually improved thanks to the new directions in agricultural production. This is a testament to the collective strength fostered through the professional associations and groups implemented by various levels of the district’s Farmers’ Union.
With the motto the "product quality comes first,” after nearly one year of establishment and operation, Muong village’s Clean Food Agricultural and Commercial Cooperative, located in Cau Hamlet, Hung Son Commune (Kim Boi district), has launched reputable, high-quality agricultural products to the market that are well-received by consumers. The products such as Muong village’s pork sausage, salt-cured chicken, and salt-cured pork hocks have gradually carved out a place in the market and they are on the path to obtaining the OCOP certification.
In the past, the phrase "bumper harvest, rock-bottom prices" was a familiar refrain for Vietnamese farmers engaged in fragmented, small-scale agriculture. But today, a new spirit is emerging across rural areas of Hoa Binh province - one of collaboration, organisation, and collective economic models that provide a stable foundation for production.
Maintaining growing area codes and packing facility codes in accordance with regulations is a mandatory requirement for agricultural products to be eligible for export. Recently, the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Hoa Binh province has intensified technical supervision of designated farming areas and packing facilities to safeguard the "green passport" that enables its products to access international markets.
