Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung received Mayor of New York city Michael Bloomberg in Hanoi on March 23, on his working visit to Vietnam.

PM Dung said there have been remarkable developments in Vietnam-US relations recently, especially in the fields of trade, investment, education and training, culture, and coping with climate change.

Two-way trade turnover has increased steadily, reaching 21 billion USD in 2011, while the US ranked sixth among countries and territories investing in Vietnam.

Dung also thanked Bloomberg for his charitable programmes and a programme to provide helmets for Vietnamese children, saying he hopes that Bloomberg’s visit will contribute to strengthening Vietnam-US cooperation.

The PM spoke highly of Bloomberg news for its objective stories on Vietnam ’s economy, thus helping the world understand Vietnam’s development more clearly.

He said he hopes the US government and New York authorities will continue to create favourable conditions for the Vietnamese community in the US, so that they can enjoy stable lives.

For his part, Bloomberg affirmed a commitment to making more contributions to promoting cooperation between New York and localities in Vietnam./.