Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai speaks at the event.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai said that US-Vietnam trade turnover has grown from US$451 million in 1995 to over US$113 billion in 2021 despite Covid-19 challenges and the interruption of global supply chains.
The US is currently the second largest trading partner having a trade turnover with Vietnam reaching over US$100 billion, and becomes the largest and most important export market of Vietnam for many years while the country is the eighth largest trading partner of the US.
The US is one of the country’s biggest investment partners with nearly 1,150 projects with a total investment capital of more than US$10.3 billion, taking 11th place out of 114 economies invested in Vietnam.
According to Vice Chairman of the HCMC People’s Committee Phan Thi Thang, the city currently sees 534 direct investment projects of US investors with a total registered investment capital totaling US$1.36 billion and 1,109 indirect investors in the forms of capital contribution, purchase of shares and buying capital contributions of companies with the total value of contributed capital of nearly US$635 million.
The US capital resources play an important role in the socio-economic development of the city, creating favorable conditions for the southern economic hub to strengthen international economic cooperation and enhance capacity in scientific and high technological development activities.
Along with investors, 116 representative offices of US enterprises are also operating very effectively in the city and play as an important bridge to promote investment and trade, and develop export and import between the two countries.
Additionally, the total import and export turnover between HCMC and the US reached US$5.1 billion in 2013 and hit US$8.9 billion in 2021. In the first ten months of the year, the import and export turnover between the city and the US was US$7.99 billion, up 11 percent compared to the same period last year.
The organization of the Vietnam-US Trade Forum 2022 is an opportunity for the two countries in general, HCMC and the US particularly, to discuss commodity trading in a new space of cooperation, the potential sectors of logistics, trade and digital service.
She emphasized that HCMC is implementing many important projects to maximize potential and advantages to develop in the new period, such as developing logistics, export, the digital economy, the sharing economy and the circular economy; building the southern metropolis into a smart city and the creative high-interaction urban area in the eastern part of HCMC, international financial center. Therefore, the participation of US investors is very important.
According to many opinions, the cooperation between provinces and cities in Vietnam and the US states is an important focus to boost extensive cooperation between the two nations, contributing to the implementation of the goals and commitments of senior leaders of the two sides.
For many years, the enhancement of cooperation at the state level with Oregon, West Virginia, Maryland, Virginia, and California has helped established comprehensive cooperation frameworks to create advantages for trade and investment exchange activities in the fields of import and export, trade, industry and energy; sharing information on potential business opportunities; supporting projects and businesses’ activities of the two countries.
