Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh had a working lunch with CEOs of leading US businesses in the semiconductor industry in Washington, D.C., on September 19, during his working visit to the country.

In attendance were members of the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation, US Ambassador to Vietnam, H.E. Marc Knapper, and Mr. John Neuffer, President and CEO of the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA).

Three cooperative deals were signed between Vietnamese Government agencies and US semiconductor businesses. The National Innovation Center (NIC) at the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) signed an MoU with Cadence Design Systems, Inc. to boost semiconductor chip design and development in Vietnam.

It also signed an MoU with Arizona State University to develop a semiconductor workforce in Vietnam, while the Ministry of Education and Training signed an MoU with Intel to enhance human resources for Vietnam’s high-tech sector.

The US businesses expressed their appreciation of the potential for developing Vietnam’s semiconductor industry, especially with high-quality human resources and the increasingly improving capacity of businesses and training facilities in the country.

Speaking at the meeting, Prime Minister Chinh called on the US semiconductor businesses to invest more in Vietnam, especially in infrastructure, technology transfer, design, production, distribution, and human resources training, among other fields. He also asked relevant agencies to facilitate the operations of foreign investors, in reply to their recommendations, in regard to taxes, administrative procedures, land, and other matters.

Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung also noted that this is the next step in deploying cooperative activities between organizations and businesses in the US semiconductor industry and Vietnamese partners to bring opportunities to expand the market and improve Vietnam’s capacity in the industry. He also noted that the US is a leading country in the semiconductor industry with many outstanding technological achievements, and Vietnam has great potential and opportunities to develop an industry ecosystem.