US Secretary of Commerce: Highly appreciates Vietnam's vision and economic development plan

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh receives US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh affirmed that the historic visit of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong seven years ago laid a solid foundation for the relationship, creating a basis for the Vietnam-US comprehensive partnership to continue to develop extensively, on the principle of respecting each other's political institutions, independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, for peace, cooperation and development in the region and the world, bringing practical benefits to the people of the two countries. The Prime Minister highly appreciated the US policy of supporting a strong, independent and prosperous Vietnam.

The Prime Minister thanked the US Department of Commerce in general and the Minister in particular for their support in promoting trade between the two countries in recent times as well as promptly resolving problems in a way that does not disrupt trade between the two countries.

The Prime Minister hopes that the trade relations between the two countries will continue to develop harmoniously and sustainably. Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac

The Prime Minister highly appreciated the remarkable developments in economic and trade relations between the two countries, in which two-way trade turnover increased from 400 million USD in 1995 to nearly 112 billion USD in 2021 despite many difficulties due to the pandemic, contributing to bringing Vietnam into the top 20 countries with the largest trade exchanges in the world and the room for trade development between the two countries is still very large.

The Prime Minister expressed his hope that the two countries' trade relations will continue to develop harmoniously and sustainably, focusing on diversifying supply, transforming trade in investment, promoting science and technology and areas where the United States has strengths and Vietnam has potential.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, US Secretary of Commerce and members of the delegation witnessed the ceremony to grant the Investment Certificate and Business Registration Certificate to Son My LNG Terminal Company Limited. Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac

The Prime Minister affirmed that Vietnam is committed to continuing to create an equal and transparent business environment based on market principles, fairness, harmonious benefits, and shared risks, so that US businesses and investors can feel secure and expand their business activities in Vietnam.

The Prime Minister affirmed that Vietnam's economy is in the process of development, having gone through many years of war, so it needs cooperation from developed countries, including the United States, in green finance, technology, human resources, etc.

In the current period, Vietnam prioritizes projects with advanced technology, new technology, high technology, clean technology, high added value, green transformation, digital transformation, spillover effects, and connection to global production and supply chains.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, US Secretary of Commerce and members of the delegation witnessed the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment and representatives of Citigroup Group sign a cooperation agreement on ESG (environment, social and governance), technical assistance and information exchange to achieve Vietnam's zero emission target through: carbon market, blended finance, classification and biodiversity, and legal framework. Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac

Secretary Gina Raimondo highly appreciated the significance of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's visit to the United States and, on behalf of the Biden administration, welcomed Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation to attend the ASEAN-US Special Summit.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, US Secretary of Commerce and members of the delegation witnessed the signing ceremony of a cooperation agreement between the US Trade Development Agency (USTDA), Black&Veatch Management Company and representatives of Mekong Clean Energy Connection Company Limited to finance the feasibility study of the Bac Lieu Power Transmission Line Project. Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac

She expressed her admiration for the remarkable development of Vietnam, especially since her first visit in 1995 and after 27 years of normalization of relations. Minister Raimondo highly appreciated the vision and economic development plan of the Vietnamese Government, especially the transition to digital economy, green economy, and supply chain diversification, and affirmed that the United States wishes to strengthen cooperation with Vietnam in the process of Vietnam implementing its commitment to reduce emissions at the recent COP26 Conference.

Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung and former US Ambassador to Vietnam Ted Osius, President and CEO of the US-ASEAN Business Council (USABC), signed a cooperation agreement in the field of information and communications technology, supporting businesses of the two countries to strengthen and expand cooperation in the field of digital technology. Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac

She was also pleased with the progress in bilateral relations, especially in the economic and trade fields. The Minister congratulated Vietnam on its success in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, affirmed that the United States will continue to support Vietnam in recovering from the pandemic, and expressed her joy at seeing more and more Vietnamese businesses interested in investing in the US market, saying that these are signs that the Vietnam-US economic and trade relations will continue to develop strongly in the coming time.

Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam Nguyen Thi Hong and Ms. Stephanie von Friedeburg, Senior Vice President of IFC, signed a cooperation agreement to support the development of a legal framework on environmental and social standards in investment and credit activities of Vietnamese credit institutions. Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac

On this occasion, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Minister of Trade Raimondo witnessed the handover ceremony of cooperation documents between ministries, sectors and enterprises of the two countries in many fields such as energy, infrastructure, telecommunications, digital technology, and climate change response, contributing to supporting Vietnam to soon achieve its commitments set out at COP26.

HD Bank representative and IFC Senior Vice President awarded the contract to provide supply chain financing for SMEs in the fields of agriculture, construction materials, supporting industries, downstream petroleum and oil distribution, and climate change response according to COP26. Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac

Investment certificates and cooperation agreements awarded between ministries, branches and enterprises of the two countries include:

Investment registration certificate for Son My LNG Terminal project for AES Group and PetroVietnam Gas Corporation - PVGas.

Agreement on cooperation on environment, social and governance, technical assistance cooperation and information exchange to achieve Vietnam's zero emission target through carbon market, blended finance, classification and biodiversity, and legal framework.

PetroVietnam Power Corporation (PVPower) and representatives of GE Group (USA) signed an agreement on investment cooperation to improve the operational efficiency of Nhon Trach 1 Power Plant. Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac

Cooperation agreement in the field of information and communication technology, supporting businesses of the two countries to strengthen and expand cooperation in the field of digital technology for the United States Trade Development Agency (USTDA), Black & Veatch Management Company and representatives of Mekong Clean Energy Connection Company Limited.

Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) and representatives of Casa System Group (USA) signed an agreement on investment cooperation in the field of 5G network. Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac

Agreement on cooperation in the field of power generation and transmission, exchange of information on new technologies applicable to the US power system, training and provision of services for gas-fired power projects in the period of 2022-2027.

Agreement on investment cooperation to improve operational efficiency of Nhon Trach 1 Power Plant; agreement on investment cooperation in the field of 5G network.

Cooperation agreement on supporting the development of a legal framework on environmental and social standards in investment and credit activities of Vietnamese credit institutions.

Cooperation agreement on supporting the working group to assist the National Steering Committee in implementing commitments at the COP26 Conference on climate change and environment.

The contract provides supply chain financing limits for SMEs in the fields of agriculture, construction materials, supporting industries, downstream petroleum distribution and climate change response according to COP26 between HD Bank and the International Finance Corporation (IFC).