Secretary of HCM City's Party Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan speaks at Ho Chi Minh City-US Business Summit. (Photo: nld.com.vn) HCM City (VNA) - Ho Chi Minh City is a promising destination for US partners thanks to its strengths in many fields, Secretary of the city’s Party Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan told the opening of the Ho Chi Minh City-US Business Summit held online on August 25.
Nhan noted that the 10-million-strong city, which is Vietnam’s economic hub, has workplace productivity three-times higher than the country’s average.
It is home to Quang Trung Software City, the largest and most successful software centre in Vietnam and a large-scale high-tech park that has attracted more than 7 billion USD and over 160 enterprises with 46,000 employees, posting export revenue of more than 64 billion USD over the last 10 years, he said, adding that the city also has 54 research institutes and universities.
It also provides plenty of opportunities for investors given its infrastructure, information technology, and transport, while it is moving towards being a smart city and a renovated and dynamic hub.
He also pledged to continue working closely with US partners, considering their success as the city’s own.
Noting that Vietnam and the US have enjoyed a fruitful partnership over the course of 25 years of diplomatic relations, he said HCM City is the best at creating stronger links between Vietnam and the US thanks to its potential in investment cooperation.
Vietnam is now the 13th-largest trade partner of the US, with two-way trade reaching 77 billion USD in 2019 and 38 billion USD in the first half of 2020, he said, adding that the Intel Group has invested 1 billion USD in HCM City.
For his part, US Ambassador to Vietnam Daniel Kritenbrink noted that the relationship between the governments, localities, businesses and people of the two countries has seen major steps forward over the last 25 years.
COVID-19 has posed significant challenges for the world as a whole and has affected programmes and events planned by the two countries for 2020.
The two nations have already cooperated closely in preventing and controlling the pandemic by sharing information and experience, he said.
Lauding the development potential and investment cooperation opportunities in HCM City, the ambassador said its growth towards renovation and smart city development showed the effectiveness of cooperative ties between the US and the city.
The two sides have cooperated in seven projects in smart city development, including on setting up an urgent contact centre and developing an Intelligent Operations Center (IOC).
He said the private sector will play an important role in Vietnam-US relations and help promote economic growth in Vietnam. This summit is not only a model for public-private partnerships towards a smart city but also provides an environment for the sharing of information and the creation of win-win partnerships.
The summit comprised three discussions on investment in developing supply chains in high technology in HCM City, the development of financial technology (fintech) in Vietnam and beyond, and the exploration of cooperative opportunities between HCM City and partners in creative and interactive cities in the east, smart cities, and financial centre projects.
It drew out specific cooperation orientations between the city and the US in the 2020-2025 period with a vision to 2030 and spread a strong message of the city’s activeness in attracting new investment waves from US multinationals, especially in the post-pandemic period.
A number of cooperation deals were also signed between the city and US partners on this occasion./.
VNA
