At the event (Photo: VNA)
HCM
City (VNA) – A conference entitled “Meet the USA: Partnering for Reopening, Recovery and Rebound in the Southern
Economic Region” was held both online and offline in Ho Chi Minh City on
November 23.
The event was
co-hosted by the Foreign Ministry’s External Affairs Department and the
American Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam.
In his opening remarks, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs To Anh Dung said the
event takes place at a time when the country is hard hit by the pandemic,
especially in Ho Chi Minh City and southern provinces.
He thanked US
firms for partnering with the Vietnamese Government in the fight against the
pandemic and lobbying the US Government to offer vaccines to
Vietnam.
The Deputy Minister wished that
the Vietnamese-US business community would continue working closely with the Vietnamese
ministries, agencies and localities and directly engage in developing bilateral
economic ties between the two countries.
Chargé d’Affaires at the US Embassy in Vietnam Marie
Damour said the US is proud of contributing to Vietnam’s fight against the
pandemic, especially the vaccination campaign, with 20 million vaccine doses, 16
million of them have arrived in Vietnam. The US has also helped Vietnam with nearly 30 million USD in cash.
She
described Vietnam as the 10th largest trade partner of the US and an
important part in the global supply chain. Therefore, the event afforded both
sides a chance to discuss ways to restore production, boost recovery and
develop the economy.
Vice
Chairman of HCM City People’s Committee Vo Van Hoan affirmed the city’s determination
to continue with administrative reform to improve business climate in the city, quickly complete market
economy institutions, create a legal environment of fairness, equality
and healthy competition for all economic sectors at home and abroad, and
resolutely fight corruption.
Ho
Chi Minh City will maintain regular dialogues with domestic and foreign business
communities to make timely policy adjustments for the benefits of the city and the business community, he said, adding that the city is ready to take the lead in initiating and piloting
new models and mechanisms to foster partnerships with enterprises and southern localities.
During the two sessions of the conference, leaders of southern cities and provinces pledged to offer all
possible support to firms, including those from the US, to do long-term
business there.
Representatives
from AmCham and US enterprises also offered recommendations to help with sustainable
economic recovery and development and expressed their confidence in economic growth in Vietnam in general and localities in the southern economic region in particular./.