The Obama administration is interested in boosting cooperation with Vietnam , especially in education, said US Under-Secretary of Commerce for International Trade Francisco Sanchez.

The US believes it will make have positive contributions to the development of Vietnam ’s education, he said at a press briefing in Hanoi on April 7.

He informed that this was the first time that the US Department of Commerce led a mission with representatives from 56 universities, colleges and English-language institutes to a number of countries and Vietnam was the mission’s second stop.

Sanchez said he believed that the education mission will open up more cooperation between both countries’ educational institutions and more and more Vietnamese people will study in the US .

Sanchez’s visit, which coincides with the 15 th anniversary of establishment of the US Trade Office in Vietnam , affirms the importance of bilateral relations.

The mission is scheduled to have working sessions with key officials of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Information and Communications in order to boost trade exchange between the two countries, especially in intellectual property.

Sanchez encouraged Vietnamese companies to take part in meetings on small- and medium-sized enterprises within the framework of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum scheduled for Big Sky, Montana from May 13-21.

During the visit, the US Trade Office coordinates with the International Institute on Education (IIE) to organise education fairs in Ho Chi Minh City on April 6 and in Hanoi on April 8./.