US Ambassador to Vietnam Marc Knapper (front, second from left) visits an industrial park in Hai Phong city. (Photo: VNA) This is the biggest US businessdelegation coming to Vietnam since the two countries upgraded their ties to acomprehensive strategic partnership in September 2023.
Prominent in thedelegation are Meta, Boeing, 3M, Abbott, AES, AIG, Amazon, Atmo, Chubb LifeVietnam, Coca-Cola Vietnam, Dieago, Dow, Energy Capital Vietnam, FedEx, Ford,Manulife, Marriott International, Mastercard, PepsiCo Foods Vietnam, PernodRicard, Procter & Gamble (P&G), Roblox, Salesforce, SAP Asia Pte Ltd, SnowBridgeCapital, Suntory PepsiCo Vietnam Beverage, Visa, and Zuellig Pharma Vietnam.
On this occasion, US Ambassador toVietnam Marc Knapper said the two sides agreed to intensify cooperation in allaspects, from trade, investment, security to education and health care, and to continue promoting ties in the fields they are strong at.
Perceivingthat it is necessary to utilise the comprehensive strategic partnership, henoted there are many foundations for developing the Vietnam - US collaborationsuch as the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF), and that it’snow an important point of time for fostering long-term cooperation.
Vietnam played an important role inglobal supply chains during the pandemic, and the US has boosted supply chainresilience by manufacturing such products as leather - footwear in theSoutheast Asian country. It has been holding an important role in the US’strade relations as well as security and economic ties, Knapper said.
The US will step up cooperation withVietnam through the USABC and the American Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam, the diplomat went on, mentioning the growth of bilateral trade over the past 29 yearssince the normalisation of bilateral relations, with Vietnam now being theninth largest trade partner of the US and the US the biggest destination ofVietnamese goods.
Highlightingthe US as one of the top 10 foreign investors in Vietnam, USABC President andCEO Ted Osius said foreign direct investment (FDI) from the US in Vietnam rose sharply last year and this trend will continue in 2024.
USinvestors will invest more in Vietnam, and priority fields include technology,clean energy, energy transition, financial services, tourism, and defence,according to Osius.
Forher part, Sarah Morgenthau, Special Representative for Commercial and BusinessAffairs at the US Department of State, welcomed Vietnamese enterprises’investment expansion in the US in the areas they have strength in like electricvehicle manufacturing. She voiced her hope that the US will boost investment inVietnam as well as ASEAN at large, and vice versa.
JosephUddo, President of the US-invested AES Vietnam, noted his company has pouredbillions of USD into Vietnam and become a major investor in the local energymarket. AES Vietnam is inspired by the country’s development orientation, whichmatches its expectation, and it is ready to support the Vietnamese Governmentduring the energy transition process.
About the reason for the firm’sinvestment here, he said the country’s fast growth has led to increasing energydemand, which also creates many opportunities for manufacturing and artificial intelligence.Vietnam also offers numerous investment chances thanks to a population of 100million, a young, industrious and smart workforce, and a business-enabling environment./.
VNA
