Bilateral economic ties will not cease growing, Ambassador Michalak says

US Ambassador to Việt Nam  Michael W. Michalak

Mr. Michalak made the statement at a seminar on the Vietnamese business circle after 15 years since the two countries normalized diplomatic relations, held on Wednesday in Hà Nội.

Looking back to what achieved during the past 15 years, US enterprises are poised to have various opportunities in Việt Nam, particularly in such fields of telecommunications, information technology, and oil exploitation, he said.

Most recently, the Việt Nam Post and Telecommunication Group (VNPT) signed an agreement with the US-based Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems on provision of the second satellite (Vinasat-2), and the Việt Nam National Coal and Mineral Industry Group (Vinacomin) and the Independent Power Producer (IPP) also joined hands to build a power plant in the northern province of Quảng Ninh.

Since the Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) came into operation in 2001, trade ties have made great leaps forward.

The two-way trade turnover shot up to US $15 billion in 2009 from just US $1.4 billion in 2001.

The US now becomes Việt Nam’s biggest export market. The Southeast Asian country’s export value to the US increased to US $12 billion last year from US $1.05 billion in 2001. Meanwhile, the US’s export to Việt Nam still rose by 11% - a higher percentage compared to any other ASEAN member states - in the hardest recession year of 2009.

Trade and investment relations with the US will be the most important part of Việt Nam’s international economic integration policy, said Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyễn Cẩm Tú.

By Hải Minh