Hanoi, Vietnam, August 2023 — APISWA members embarked on a Mission to Vietnam, alongside colleagues from the British Embassy in Hanoi and the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) in UK. We met with multiple government stakeholders from the Vietnamese government on occasion of the SWA’s visit to Vietnam with Mr Mark Kent, Chief Executive of the SWA and ex-Ambassador to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (2007-2010). He currently holds the position as Chair of the Vietnam-UK network.
The delegation met with the Vietnam Beer-Alcohol-Beverage Association (VBA) to discuss matters on responsible drinking campaign efforts, the ongoing Special Consumption Tax discussions as well as present APISWA’s latest published report by Oxford Economics on the economic contribution of international wine and spirits (IWS) – a key component of the tourism and hospitality industry in Vietnam and the ASEAN region.
APISWA also had meetings with Vietnam’s National Assembly Social Affairs Committee, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE), Ministry of Health, and the Steering Committee on Smuggling and Counterfeiting to raise challenges faced by the wines and spirits industry in Vietnam, and how industry can support the government’s policies.
