President urges American firms to integrate Vietnamese peers into supply chains

With many major American multinationals like Apple, Nike, Dell and Intel choosing Vietnam as an investment destination, the expansion of U.S. businesses’ supply chain will help Vietnam become a new global development hub, Phuc said Thursday at a meeting with the U.S.-APEC Business Coalition under the auspices of the APEC 2022 summit.

This is an opportunity for American businesses to propose new ideas and opportunities for their investments in Vietnam, he said.

“Vietnam wants American businesses to pay attention to and invest in new fields like digital economy, finance, banking, smart agriculture and renewable energy,” Phuc said.

As the world goes through many changes, with opportunities and challenges intertwined, Vietnam has made great efforts to control the Covid-19 pandemic and restore economic development, he added.

In 2021, the country’s total trade turnover reached $670 billion, up 20% from 2020. It is set to reach $800 billion this year.

In the first 9 months, Vietnam’s GDP increased by 8.83% year-on-year. Many international organizations have made optimistic forecasts about Vietnam’s economic growth this year, Phuc noted.

The country now seeks to attract foreign investors in the spirit of equality, mutual development and mutual benefit, with priority given to high technology, he added.

Michael Michalak, senior chairman of the U.S.-ASEAN Business Council, said U.S. businesses always consider Vietnam a strategic market for business investment and want to stay in Vietnam for a long time.

Quint Simon, representative of the Amazon Web Service (AWS), said that it would be very beneficial for the development of the digital economy if Vietnam issued appropriate policies for cloud computing and cross-border services. He said small and medium enterprises and startups rely heavily on digital technology to participate in the market and compete in the ASEAN region.

Also Thursday, President Phuc met with Chuan Leekpai, Chairman of Thailand’s National Assembly.

Leekpai said he was impressed with Vietnam’s recovery and strong growth after the pandemic, noting that it was one of the countries with the highest growth rate in Asia while many regional economies were still struggling.

Phuc asked the National Assembly of Thailand to support further opening up of the Thai market for Vietnamese goods, and to promote the signing and ratification of new agreements to meet the increasing demand for cooperation.

President Phuc is on an official visit to Thailand, where he is also attending the 2022 APEC Summit, at the invitation of Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha, from November 16-19.

The APEC 2022 Summit Week takes place November 14-19in Bangkok, Thailand.