U.S. plane maker Boeing will boost its investment in the aircraft part supply chain in Vietnam, Steve Biegun, senior vice president of global public policy at The Boeing Company, told Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien on the sidelines of the 2023 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting in the United States, which wrapped up on Friday.

Seeing the importance of the Vietnamese market for Boeing’s business strategy, the aerospace company has opened an office in Hanoi to deepen its cooperation with Vietnamese airlines and expand its cooperation in air transportation and helicopter supply, Biegun said.

He affirmed that Boeing would invest in the supply chain of aircraft components and aviation equipment in Vietnam in the coming time.

Minister Dien appreciated Boeing’s plan, expecting the plane maker to strengthen its partnership in the Southeast Asian nation to develop an aviation ecosystem, contributing to advancing the two-way trade between Vietnam and the United States.

Several suppliers in Vietnam have been producing Boeing aircraft parts, the minister said, adding that most firms invested in by the United States, Japan, and South Korea have joined the aerospace supply chain.

Meanwhile, Vietnamese firms have produced only low-value-added supportive parts.

As such, Dien said that Boeing’s investment in Vietnam should create a boost for Vietnamese manufacturers to improve their production and processing capacity.

Vietnam added the aerospace industry to the list of hi-tech sectors prioritized for growth in 2020, Minister Dien said.

The country has seen many major Vietnamese groups operate in mechanical engineering. They are willing to invest in the research and development activities related to the hi-tech industry, so they are eligible to become Boeing’s potential partners, he underscored.

The Vietnamese official affirmed that Vietnam is eager to work with strategic partners such as Boeing to build a cooperation framework to enhance the sustainable development of the aerospace support industry in the Southeast Asian country.

Such cooperation is expected to help Vietnamese suppliers join the company’s global supply chain, and facilitate the plane maker’s long-term strategic business plan.

Dien also proposed Boeing speed up its supply chain development in Vietnam by conducting a survey and working with firms active in support industries to select eligible partners.

Besides, the Vietnamese minister suggested Boeing send experts to Vietnam to support their partners in manpower training and technology transfer.

In response to Minister Dien’s proposal, the Boeing executive agreed to dispatch its experts to the global supplier connection event Vietnam International Sourcing 2023, which will be organized in Ho Chi Minh City in September by the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

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