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 promisingdestination for US partners thanks to its strengths in many fields, Secretaryof the city’s Party Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan told the opening of the Ho ChiMinh City-US Business Summit held online on August 25.
Nhan noted that the 10-million-strong city, which isVietnam’s economic hub, has workplace productivity three-times higher than thecountry’s average.
It is home to Quang Trung Software City, the largestand most successful software centre in Vietnam and a large-scale high-tech parkthat has attracted more than 7 billion USD and over 160 enterprises with 46,000employees, posting export revenue of more than 64 billion USD over the last 10years, he said, adding that the city also has 54 research institutes anduniversities.
It also provides plenty of opportunities for investorsgiven its infrastructure, information technology, and transport, while it ismoving towards being a smart city and a renovated and dynamic hub.
He also pledged to continue working closely with USpartners, considering their success as the city’s own.
Noting that Vietnam and the US have enjoyed a fruitfulpartnership over the course of 25 years of diplomatic relations, he said HCMCity is the best at creating stronger links between Vietnam and the US thanksto its potential in investment cooperation.
Vietnam is now the 13th-largest trade partnerof the US, with two-way trade reaching 77 billion USD in 2019 and 38 billionUSD in the first half of 2020, he said, adding that the Intel Group hasinvested 1 billion USD in HCM City.
For his part, US Ambassador to Vietnam DanielKritenbrink noted that the relationship between the governments, localities,businesses and people of the two countries has seen major steps forward overthe last 25 years.
COVID-19 has posed significant challenges for the worldas a whole and has affected programmes and events planned by the two countriesfor 2020.
The two nations have already cooperated closely in preventingand controlling the pandemic by sharing information and experience, he said.
Lauding the development potential and investmentcooperation opportunities in HCM City, the ambassador said its growth towardsrenovation and smart city development showed the effectiveness of cooperative ties betweenthe US and the city.
The two sides have cooperated in seven projects in smartcity development, including on setting up an urgent contact centre anddeveloping an Intelligent Operations Center (IOC).
He said the private sector will playan 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 smartcity but also provides an environment for the sharing of information and the creationof win-win partnerships.
The summit comprised threediscussions on investment in developing supply chains in high technology inHCM City, the development of financial technology (fintech) in Vietnam andbeyond, and the exploration of cooperative opportunities between HCM City andpartners in creative and interactive cities in the east, smart cities, andfinancial centre projects.
It drew out specific cooperationorientations between the city and the US in the 2020-2025 period with a vision to2030 and spread a strong message of the city’s activeness in attracting newinvestment waves from US multinationals, especially in the post-pandemicperiod.
A number of cooperation deals were alsosigned between the city and US partners on this occasion./.
VNA
