Vietnam News Agency reported that on November 27 in Hanoi, the Vietnam Federation of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), in coordination with the American Chamber of Commerce in Hanoi (AmCham) and the American Chamber of Commerce in Washington, organized the 7th Vietnam-US Business Summit, with the aim of strengthening bilateral trade and economic relations.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and a delegation of senior officials from Vietnamese ministries and agencies and US Ambassador to Vietnam Marc Knapper attended the event in person in Hanoi. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and former US Trade Representative Michael Froman attended online.
Speaking at the conference, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh affirmed that the Vietnamese Government always respects and listens to valuable contributions from foreign investors, including American businesses.
The Prime Minister suggested that businesses from both countries promote connections based on the viewpoint of "harmonized benefits, shared risks", listening and understanding, sharing vision and action, winning together, enjoying together, developing together, sharing joy, happiness and pride. Businesses from both countries will be the source of strength to exploit the unlimited potential of Vietnam-US cooperation.
Also at the conference, assessing the opportunities for expanding trade relations between the two countries, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that the cooperative relationship between the two countries and the partnership between businesses of the two countries are taking place vigorously and strongly, bringing real benefits to both the Vietnamese and American people. That is what Mr. Antony Blinken witnessed during his three visits to Vietnam as Secretary of State.
The US is the second largest trading partner, the largest export market and one of the leading investors in Vietnam.
With the US, Vietnam has risen to become one of the ten largest trading partners. Two-way trade reached a record of 110.8 billion USD in 2023 and continued to grow strongly in 2024 with two-way trade in the first 10 months of 2024 reaching 110.9 billion USD.
Vietnam is also an important link in the US global supply chain, while US businesses and investors have made great contributions to the development and transformation of the Vietnamese economy.
VCCI Chairman Pham Tan Cong said that despite the fluctuations of the global economy, Vietnam has risen to 35th place in the top 40 countries with the largest economic scale in the world; top 20 countries in attracting foreign investment and top 20 countries in the world in terms of import and export turnover. In terms of the innovation index, Vietnam is ranked 44/133 countries and economies, up 2 places compared to 2023.
Vietnam's economy has maintained stability, with GDP growth at a fairly high level, reaching 5% in 2023 and expected to reach over 7% in 2024.
In the above economic achievements of Vietnam, there are positive contributions from enterprises and investors from the US. High-quality investment projects of US enterprises have contributed to helping Vietnam positively shift its economic structure, especially in the fields of high technology, pharmaceutical industry, telecommunications and infrastructure.
The upgrading of Vietnam-US relations to the level of comprehensive strategic partnership in September 2023 is a historic milestone in bilateral relations; in which, the pillar of economic and trade cooperation continues to be an important driving force, playing a pioneering role in promoting common prosperity between the two countries.
In that spirit, VCCI recommends that the business communities of the two countries promote and maintain stable trade relations, aiming for a harmonious, sustainable, mutually beneficial trade balance, ensuring trade liberalization, fairness, objectivity, and transparency in trade activities between the two countries.
AmCham Chairman Joseph Uddo also said that with the upgrading of cooperation relations between the two countries in 2023 and the change of administration in the US, this is an important time and a great opportunity to improve the policy framework, attract new investors as well as support investors and businesses currently operating in Vietnam to continue to grow.
