Vietnam Today

At a meeting with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and leaders of ASEAN countries at the White House on May 12, US President Joe Biden announced an initiative costing more than $150 million to attract private sector investment into cooperation projects in a range of fields in ASEAN. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh affirmed that Vietnam will apply the best measures possible to help US investors and businesses set up or expand operations in Vietnam and access the potential ASEAN holds.

At a meeting with the American business community in Washington, D.C. on May 12, while he was in the US capital to attend the ASEAN-US Special Summit, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasized that Vietnam-US relations still have a lot of room for development. Former US Ambassador to Vietnam Ted Osius, now President and CEO of the US-ASEAN Business Council (USABC), affirmed that the US business community considers Vietnam a priority strategic market.

On May 12, within the framework of the ASEAN-US Special Summit in Washington D.C., Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with US President Joe Biden at the White House. The Prime Minister said Vietnam and the US have a special relationship and he hopes the US will continue to support Vietnam in areas where it has strengths and where Vietnam has potential and needs.

The European Commission (EC) now accepts Vietnam’s Covid-19 vaccine passports, with the same conditions as the EU’s Covid-19 digital certificate. Vietnam’s vaccine passports are now accepted in 81 countries and territories. Greater acceptance helps with the recovery efforts of Vietnam’s tourism industry.

At a May 12 meeting with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, who is paying a working visit to the US, US Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai expressed a wish that the two countries would further strengthen their economic, trade, investment, and financial ties and affirmed that the US would continue to support Vietnam’s post-pandemic recovery.

At a meeting with the US Department of Agriculture on May 11 in Washington D.C., Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan, who is part of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s delegation visiting the US, said Vietnam has long considered the country a key partner in agriculture. Trade in agriculture, forestry and fishery products between the two has continued to increase at double-digit rates despite Covid-19, economic recession, and supply chain disruptions. The US remained the largest market of Vietnam’s agriculture, forestry and fishery products in the first four months of this year, with export turnover standing at nearly $4.9 billion, or 27.3 per cent of all exports in the sector.