Washington (VNA) – Vietnamese localities attach importance to economic and trade
ties with the US, considering cooperation an important resource for
industrialisation and modernisation, said a Hanoi official.
Nguyen
Duc Chung, Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee, made the statement during
working sessions with the US Departments of State and Commerce in Washington on
July 10.
Chung
is leading a delegation of the Vietnam Young Businesspeople Association, authorities
and over 50 businesses from six Vietnamese localities of Hanoi, the northern
province of Thai Nguyen, the central province of Quang Tri and the southern
provinces of Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Dong Nai and Long An, to a programme promoting
Vietnamese localities in the US.
The
Vietnam Promotion Roadshow in the United States (VPR USA-2017), the first of
its kind in the US, aims to practically materialise outcomes of the US visit by
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc last May.
Chung
said the localities support the Vietnamese Government’s policy to attach
importance to enhancing relations with the US and facilitate joint cooperation
projects.
The
official stressed the potential for cooperation between Vietnam and the US, noting
that with nearly 100 million people, Vietnamese localities will create a promising
market for the US.
US
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Southeast Asia Patrick Murphy affirmed
that the US gives importance to intensifying its relations with Vietnam on the
basis of major interests in economy-trade, security, global issues and
people-to-people exchange.
Enhancing
collaboration between Vietnamese and US localities is significant, even
decisive, to the realisation of commitments reached by the two Governments, he
said.
Deputy
Assistant Secretary for Asia at the US Department of Commerce Diane Farrell
spoke highly of Vietnam’s economic achievements over the past years, even in
the context of regional and global economic uncertainties.
The
delegation’s visit to the US mirrors Vietnam’s willingness and commitment to
materialise high-level agreements reached by the two countries, she noted.
The
same day, the Foreign Affairs Department under the Vietnamese Ministry of
Foreign Affairs and the Vietnamese Embassy in the US in conjunction with the US
Chamber of Commerce (USCC) and the US-ASEAN Business Council (US-ABC) organised
a seminar on cooperation between Vietnamese and US localities.
The
event updated US economic associations and businesses with information about
investment environment and priority cooperation areas in Vietnamese localities.
US
firms also used this occasion to express their concerns when running business
in Vietnam.
Following
the seminar, more than 100 Vietnamese and US businesses engaged in an exchange
programme where they discussed initiatives and cooperation projects in
information-technology, smart urban areas, trade and services, green energy,
health care, education and vocational training.
Addressing
the event, Ambassador Pham Quang Vinh stressed that enhancing connection between
Vietnamese localities and US Government agencies, localities and businesses
will contribute to elevating the two countries’ relations practically,
consolidating their mutual trust and understanding and creating a foundation
for exchanges between their citizens.-VNA