US-Vietnam trade ties boast opportunities for growth: PM

The U.S. has so far invested more than $10 billion in Vietnam, but bilateral economic ties still have a lot of room for development, said Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.

He made the comment at a meeting with U.S. corporate representatives in Washington D.C. on May 12, local time, during his working trip to the U.S.

Chinh said cooperation between the two sides is set to further prosper in all fields, notably in commerce, investment and finance, with businesses playing a very important role.

“Vietnam always considers the United States a leading partner,” the premier told the meeting, co-held by the US-ASEAN Business Council (US-ABC) and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. "I’m willing to hold dialogues with anyone in the world about the economy of Vietnam."

Chinh reiterated Vietnam’s foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, diversification and multilateralization, for peace, friendship, cooperation and development; and being a trustworthy partner and an active and responsible member of the international community.

At the meeting, US-ABC President and CEO Ted Osius, a former U.S ambassador to Vietnam, praised the country's efforts in facilitating the U.S. business community's investment and business activities.

Osius said the U.S. business community considers Vietnam a strategic, priority market, wanting to contribute to Vietnam's growth and prosperity.

The Vietnamese PM then answered questions from American businesses on digital transformation, pandemic preparedness and implementation of Vietnam’s 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference commitments. He proposed the U.S. support Vietnam in developing science-technology, finance and human resources.

In a separate meeting with Scott Nathan, CEO of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation the same day, Chinh proposed supporting Vietnam in fields like green transition, circular economy, renewable energy, climate change response, digital transformation, and promoting development in the new period.

Vietnam ranked ninth among the U.S.'s top trading partners, with bilateral trade reaching $111 billion in 2021, increasing by 250 times compared to the time before the normalization of relations in 1995.

The U.S is Vietnam’s second biggest trading partner and one of the Southeast Asia country’s top investors.