The ongoing historic visit by U.S. President Joe Biden to Vietnam and the elevation of the two countries’ bilateral relations to comprehensive strategic partnership will provide unprecedented opportunities and benefits for Vietnam, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien told the media.

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong and President Biden, who is in Vietnam for a two-day state visit, on Sunday announced the upgrading of their countries' bilateral relations to comprehensive strategic partnership, the highest level in the Southeast Asian country's international relations, for peace, cooperation, and sustainable development.

The milestone is expected to open a wide corridor for the economic cooperation of the two countries.

“The event will bolster new and breakthrough cooperation sectors and enhance Vietnam’s internal force so that it can join global value chains, focusing on boosting enterprises’ participation in the supply of materials, accessories, and equipment to the energy, aviation, digital economy, and artificial intelligence sectors,” Minister Dien said. 

The ties elevation will firstly benefit export activities amid economic difficulties and high inflation in the U.S., which have sent the sales of consumer goods plunging. However, the decline is just temporary, not a long-lasting trend.

Dien added that the growth of Vietnam’s exports stateside over the past few months signaled a promising outlook for this year as U.S. consumers’ confidence is back on track.

Exports in which Vietnam has strengths, such as textiles and garments, wooden products, footwear, and electronic products, are expected to recover at a positive pace.

Over the past few years, Vietnam has been developing itself into a global production hub.

Vietnamese enterprises have launched diversified products at competitive prices and of increasingly improved quality.

The U.S. delegation (L) and the Vietnamese delegation at their talks at the Office of the Party Central Committee in Hanoi, September 10, 2023. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

After the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent geopolitical and economic instability, many groups, retailers, and wholesalers have diversified their markets to ensure a sustainable supply. Many of them have chosen Vietnam as a key destination in their supply chains.

“This is a great opportunity. However, production and export enterprises need to spend stronger efforts to grasp the opportunity,” Dien noted.

Demands and spending habits in the U.S. and other importing markets of Vietnam have changed, requiring local enterprises to quickly adapt to the changes.

They set out strict requirements in prices, quality, environmental protection, sustainable development, green production, and clean and sustainable supply chains.

The Vietnamese minister said the potential sectors for cooperation between Vietnam and the U.S. will be energy, aviation, infrastructure, high-skilled manpower training, energy transition, digital economy, and green production.

As for the energy sector, Dien said the U.S. and Vietnam have entered into many cooperation agreements, such as those in oil exploration and exploitation, building thermal power plants and providing equipment for these plants, and wind power generation, among others.

The two sides have also held the U.S.-Vietnam Energy Security Dialogue, during which Vietnam suggested the U.S. support its energy transition by providing policy consultancy, training human resources, and assisting enterprises in accessing new technology.

U.S. President Biden arrived in Hanoi on Sunday afternoon for a state visit to Vietnam lasting until Monday at the invitation of Vietnamese Party leader Trong.

The elevation of the Vietnam-U.S. bilateral relations to comprehensive strategic partnership makes the U.S. the fifth country to see its relationship with the Southeast Asian country reach the highest level in the latter’s international relations, following China, Russia, India, and South Korea.

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