‘I am open to dialogue with anyone about Vietnam’s economy’

On May 12 (local time), Prime Minister Pham Minh had a working session with the American business community organized by the US-ASEAN Business Council (USABC) and the US Chamber of Commerce (USCC), on the occasion of the event. Special ASEAN – US Summit, visit and work in the US and the United Nations.

Vietnam – US economy still has a lot of room for development

The Prime Minister said that the relationship between Vietnam and the US has historically had ups and downs and breakthroughs. This is normal in international relations, as well as in everyday life between individuals.

“Yesterday, I joked with some officials during working sessions: In a dish, there are spicy, sour, salty and sweet flavors. If the dish does not have enough flavor, it will not be a good meal, and the same goes for the Vietnam-US relationship,” the Prime Minister said.

According to the Prime Minister, after 27 years of normalizing relations, Vietnam and the US have achieved many important results. Since the establishment of a comprehensive partnership in 2013, cooperation between the two sides has continued to deepen in all fields, in which trade is a very important pillar of businesses.

The two sides overcame their differences and reached the fundamental principles for the relationship between the two countries, which were affirmed in the Declaration of Joint Vision between Vietnam and the US when General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong paid an official visit to the US in 2016. 2015, which emphasizes respect for “each other’s political institutions, independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity”. Vietnam highly appreciates that over the years the US has always supported a strong, independent and prosperous Vietnam.

The head of the Government overviewed the economic relationship between the two sides, in which, the US became the second largest trading partner of Vietnam, while Vietnam was the 9th largest trading partner of the US.

The Vietnam – US Trade Agreement in 2000 was a launching pad contributing to bringing the two countries’ relations to a new height. The two countries’ trade turnover in 2021, despite facing many difficulties during the Covid-19 pandemic, still reached nearly $112 billion, an increase of nearly 280 times compared to $400 million in 1995.

Vietnam is America’s largest trading partner in ASEAN. The US has always been one of the largest investment partners of Vietnam, with a total investment capital of more than 10 billion USD, but this is still not commensurate with its potential.

“The past time has confirmed the very high complementarity between the two economies, on the basis of the achieved achievements, we still have a lot of room for development and much work to do to bring benefits to the people. two countries”, the head of the Vietnamese Government emphasized.

The Prime Minister said that Vietnam is actively implementing a program of safe and flexible adaptation, effective disease control, rapid recovery and sustainable socio-economic development.

Among the socio-economic development achievements with digital transformation, innovation has made great strides. Vietnam has ranked 3rd in ASEAN in terms of digital economy scale.

He affirmed, Vietnam has synchronously implemented many solutions on opening the economy; building an independent and self-reliant economy, and at the same time actively, extensively and effectively integrating into the world. This is a complementary, mutually reinforcing issue.

In which, Vietnam identifies internal resources as basic, strategic, long-term and decisive; taking external force is important, breakthrough, regular.

“I am ready to have a dialogue with anyone in the world about the Vietnamese economy and the situation in Vietnam. We work with sincerity, trust and responsibility. When cooperating with each other, the benefits are harmonious and the risks must be shared,” emphasized the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister also affirmed: Vietnam is steadfast in its foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, peace, friendship, cooperation and development, diversification and multilateralisation, a good friend and a reliable partner with foreign countries. countries in the world, is a responsible member of the international community.

The key is sincerity, trust and responsibility

Answer some questions from the US business community about digital transformation, energy transformation, climate change response, health sector, epidemic prevention, business environment improvement, security Online, the Prime Minister shared about two major principles.

These are global issues, so there must be a global approach with solidarity, joining hands, and upholding multilateralism for cooperation to solve. These are also issues of the whole people, so the participation of the people must be mobilized, taking the people as the center, the subject, the goal and the driving force.

The Prime Minister said that Vietnam has established a National Committee on Digital Transformation, chaired by the Prime Minister. Vietnam has many advantages such as human resources for digital transformation, and at the same time can inherit lessons from previous countries in this field; is focusing on building large databases for digital transformation.

Vietnam has established a National Steering Committee to implement commitments at COP26 led by the Prime Minister and is aggressively implementing solutions.

However, the head of the Government said that energy transition is a difficult issue, there must be a fair and just approach, developed countries have a responsibility to support developing countries in terms of institutions, technology, finance, human resources, management.

The Prime Minister once again emphasized: Sincerity, trust and responsibility are the keys for countries to resolve disagreements and differences in a volatile world like today.

After the speech, the whole audience applauded the Prime Minister’s words.

Thu Hang (From Washington DC)