The US attaches special importance to developing cooperative ties with Vietnam in different fields, visiting US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross told Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh.

In a meeting in Hanoi on November 8, Ross thanked the Vietnamese Government for its efforts to improve the investment environment and creating favourable conditions for US companies in particular and foreign businesses in general to effectively operate in Vietnam.

There is great potential for the two countries to foster economic cooperation, especially in the spheres of energy, aviation, and construction, he said, adding that the US delegation’s visit to Vietnam aims to further strengthen bilateral economic, trade and investment ties.

Ross hoped the Vietnamese Government would continue to make it easy for US businesses to expand investment and trade cooperation with Vietnamese partners for the sake of both nations.

For his part, Anh affirmed that building strategic trust is one of the most important factors to substantially promote the comprehensive cooperative partnership between Vietnam and the US for the benefits of their people.

The Government of Vietnam in general and the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) in particular want to work closely with the US to deepen the bilateral cooperation in a practical and effective manner, especially in the fields of economy, trade and investment, he said.

Vietnam is taking many solutions to balance its trade with the US, such as stepping up cooperative ties with the federal government and state administrations in the fields of mutual interest and encouraging the import of goods and services from the US, the minister stressed.

Regarding cooperation in the fight against goods origin frauds and illegal transshipment, Anh suggested that the two sides should further strengthen the coordination mechanism, especially after the Customs Mutual Assistance Agreement (CMAA) is signed in the coming time.

He took the occasion to thank for the US side’s recent decision to recognise Vietnam's food safety control system on catfish as equivalent to American regulations.

He appreciated the US for continuing to consider Vietnam as the focus of its Tradewinds trade promotion programme in 2020, noting that Vietnam will coordinate closely with the US to ensure the programme’s success.

Anh spoke highly of Ross’s speech at the Indo Pacific Business Forum on the sidelines of the 35th ASEAN Summit in Thailand on November 4, which spotlighted the Blue Dot Network initiative of the US to promote sustainable infrastructure development with high-quality and reliable standards.

The MoIT is interested in promoting this relationship with the goal of building Vietnam as a reliable partner of the US, he stressed.

Vietnam and the US have enjoyed continuous growth in bilateral trade and investment cooperation in recent years, with two-way trade hitting 60 billion USD in 2018, and 35.4 billion USD in the first half of 2019. The US has been one of the biggest trade partners of Vietnam for many years.