The Vietnamese Ministry of Information and Communications, at a working session on Wednesday with the U.S.-ASEAN Business Council (USABC) and representatives from many U.S. enterprises, called on U.S enterprises to support Vietnamese enterprises, especially SMEs, in digital transformation.

Following a working session with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, the USABC and U.S. enterprises, who are in Vietnam to seek cooperation, investment, and business opportunities, held a meeting with the Vietnamese Ministry of Information and Communications.

A view of the working session between Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and the U.S.-ASEAN Business Council. Photo: Duong Giang / Tuoi Tre

USABC President and CEO Ted Osius took time from the meeting to share his appreciation for the potential of Vietnam’s digital economy.

According to Osius, U.S. enterprises are paying attention to the Southeast Asian country’s policies aimed at boosting the digital economy, digital infrastructure development, and metaverse and digital asset management regulations.

They are also keen on the country’s priorities and targets for 2023 – the year of digital data, as well as how U.S. firms can join hands to help Vietnam achieve these targets, Osius added.

A representative of the Vietnamese Ministry of Information and Communications said Vietnam expects to conduct the digital transformation with three pillars—digital government, digital economy, and digital society.

The ministry admitted that Vietnam needs a new legal framework appropriate to the development of it’s digital economy, in which U.S. firms can make contributions.

Lessons from successful digital transformation in other countries may not be successfully applied in Vietnam, so domestic firms can help localize solutions developed by U.S. enterprises.

U.S. ambassador to Vietnam Marc Knapper (L) and USABC President and CEO Ted Osius at the working session with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh. Photo: Duong Giang / Tuoi Tre

At the working session with the USABC and representatives of Meta, Roblox, SpaceX, FedEx, UPS, Amazon Web Services, Boeing, and Apple, PM Chinh thanked them for accompanying Vietnam on it’s digital transformation journey and wished all enterprises success in working with Vietnam.

“Your success is also our success,” PM Chinh stressed.

He affirmed that the Vietnamese government is always willing to listen to U.S. firms’ opinions and proposals.

Vietnam will continue to create favorable conditions for U.S. enterprises to expand their investment in Vietnam and pave the way for Vietnamese companies to take part in their value chains.

The prime minister also discussed Vietnam’s development pillars, breakthrough strategies, and viewpoint on the foreign-invested sector.

In addition, he introduced specific sectors in Vietnam in which the USABC and U.S enterprises are interested, such as digital economy, creative industries, healthcare, energy, agriculture, and aviation.

He affirmed that Vietnam is willing to import machines, equipment, tools, and spare parts from the U.S. to balance Vietnam-U.S. trade.

Meta has high hopes for Vietnam

On Wednesday, Rafael Rrankel, Director of Public Policy for South and Southeast Asia at Meta, met with representatives from Vietnamese press agencies, including Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.

At the meeting, Rrankel said Vietnam has a high number of Facebook users and the number is on the rise. In addition, many Vietnamese companies use Facebook’s Business Messaging service to manage parts of their operations.

Director of Public Policy for South and Southeast Asia at Meta Group Rafael Rrankel. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

“It can be said that you are a leading market of Facebook in the world in using the service,” Rrankel affirmed.

The Meta representative shared his appreciation for the Vietnamese government’s long-term vision and investment in telecom infrastructure.

The Vietnamese government has issued policies to support digital economy development, and considers the digital economy and support enterprises’ digital transformation as top priorities, Rrankel said.

Rrankel emphasized that “these help leading technology enterprises of the U.S., including Meta, see the bright outlook of Vietnam.”

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