Representatives of Long An International Port in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam and the United States’ Port of Long Beach signed a letter of intent at a conference held by the California Association of Port Authorities in the U.S. on Wednesday to set up a sister partnership.

The signing is expected to boost cooperation between the two sides in managing and operating seaports to ramp up cargo throughput and move toward sustainable growth, the Long An Province Department of Planning and Investment said on Thursday.

The proposed relationship will contribute to fostering global trade and spurring import-export activities in the Asian-Pacific region.

The Port of Long Beach, located in the south of California, is the United States’ leading export seaport, and is ranked 21st among the busiest container ports in the world.

The port features six container stations and can handle cargo throughput worth US$200 billion a year.

Vo Quoc Huy, chairman of the board of directors at the Long An port, said that the signing acted as a stepping stone for cooperation between the two ports, while helping the Long An port quickly become a potential destination for import and export operations in Asia.

As part of the ongoing working trip to the United States, which will last until Saturday, a delegation of officials from the Long An Province administration joined a conference for Vietnamese and U.S. firms in Los Angeles to sound out cooperation opportunities.

Among 1,200 foreign-invested projects in Long An Province, U.S. firms are involved in 23 projects with a total pledged capital of over $484 million, making the nation the province’s sixth-largest investors among 40 countries and territories investing in the locality.

Many major U.S. firms such as Pepsi, Coca-Cola, and Avery Dennison have chosen to do business in Long An Province.

Truong Van Liep, acting director of the provincial department, said that the province is attracting U.S. enterprises to make investments in some key fields such as automation, electronics and software production, semiconductor manufacturing, artificial intelligence, logistics seaport services, renewable energy, and hi-tech agriculture.

The Long An international seaport covers an area of 147 hectares in Tan Tap Commune under Can Giuoc District.

The port plays an important role in Long An’s logistics development strategy.

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