During the official visit to Thailand by Party General Secretary and State President To Lam and a high-level Vietnamese delegation, Finance Minister Ngo Van Tuan held talks on May 28 with Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas.
Speaking about Vietnam’s economic situation, Ngo Van Tuan said the country was accelerating administrative reforms, streamlining government structures and building a more effective tax system.
Vietnam is targeting double-digit economic growth this year and in the coming years, requiring major investment mobilisation. Total social investment is projected at around 40 per cent of GDP, with public investment accounting for 20 to 22 per cent of the total.
However, the minister said Vietnam’s economy had recently been affected by geopolitical instability and conflict in the Middle East, causing first quarter growth to slow to around 7.8 per cent. As a result, stronger growth would be needed in the remaining quarters to achieve the government’s full year target of about 9 per cent.
Ngo Van Tuan noted that Vietnam’s economy was approaching the scale of Thailand’s, with Vietnam’s GDP expected to reach around USD 514 billion in 2025 compared with Thailand’s estimated USD 570 billion.
He added that both Vietnam and Thailand are highly open economies attracting strong foreign direct investment inflows, making energy security a key issue for economic development.
In economic cooperation, the minister said the two countries were both competitors and potential partners in agricultural exports, especially rice and durian. He proposed stronger coordination to jointly expand export markets.
Vietnam is currently prioritising investment in power generation and manufacturing industries, while also valuing the growing presence of major Thai businesses in the country, he said.
Ngo Van Tuan also argued that ASEAN needed deeper integration within supply chains, with each member contributing according to its strengths. He cited Vietnam’s development of electric vehicles and Thailand’s strength in manufacturing and processing industries as complementary advantages.
On supporting industries, the minister said Thailand already had a well developed supplier ecosystem with around 3,000 enterprises, while Vietnam remained in the early stages of development in this area.
He also revealed that Vietnam was building a national data centre and finalising regulations related to data storage and implementation of the Global Minimum Tax, aiming to comply with international commitments while maintaining investment attractiveness.
For his part, Ekniti Nitithanprapas said many Thai companies were currently supplying components and spare parts for Vietnamese electric vehicle maker VinFast.
He added that several Japanese and Chinese corporations had established household appliance production facilities in Thailand under brands including Toshiba and Midea.
According to Thai officials, foreign direct investment flows into Southeast Asia are increasing amid geopolitical instability in the Middle East, presenting major opportunities for ASEAN economies such as Vietnam, Thailand and Singapore.
Thailand also praised Vietnam’s success in attracting Samsung investment into the semiconductor sector and agreed that ASEAN countries should strengthen supply chain integration to improve their position in global value chains.
During the discussions, Ekniti Nitithanprapas shared Thailand’s experience in evaluating public investment projects, noting that the country uses the Economic Internal Rate of Return indicator to assess project effectiveness rather than relying solely on financial returns or interest rates.
Thailand also outlined its experience in reforming tax incentives to adapt to the Global Minimum Tax through a “qualified tax credits” mechanism currently being revised in Thai law.
At the end of the meeting, both sides agreed on the need to deepen not only cooperation but also practical economic connectivity to strengthen ASEAN’s collective role in regional and global value chains.
In 2025, bilateral trade between Vietnam and Thailand reached approximately USD 22.1 billion. Thailand remains one of the largest foreign investors in Vietnam, with total registered capital estimated at between USD 14.9 billion and USD 15.4 billion.
