Prime Minister hosts delegation of U.S.-ASEAN Business Council

Pham expressed thanks to the U.S., including U.S. enterprises, for supporting Viet Nam in the COVID-19 fight and its socio-economic development process.

Pham emphasized that economic cooperation, trade, investment, science-technology, and innovation are crucial pillars of the Viet Nam-U.S. comprehensive strategic partnership.

Viet Nam aims to become an upper middle-income country with a modern industrial base by 2030 and a developed and high-income nation by 2045, the Government leader noted, expressing his hope that the U.S., in general, and the U.S. businesses, in particular, will work with the nation to realize these goals.

He suggested businesses of the USABC raise their strong voice to the U.S. Government to soon recognize Viet Nam as a market economy and soon remove export restrictions on advanced semiconductors against Viet Nam.

The Prime Minister called on U.S. enterprises to expand investment in Viet Nam, enhance technology transfer to the Southeast Asian nation, especially high-tech serving for newly-emerging sectors such as digital economy, circular economy, climate change, green transformation, sharing economy, and knowledge economy.

U.S. businesses should assist Viet Nam in perfecting institutions, enhancing smart, modern and advanced management capacity and developing high-quality human resource, the Prime Minister proposed.

Ted Osius and representatives of U.S. businesses hailed Viet Nam's improvements in investment environment, committing to pouring more investment in Viet Nam in such areas as science-technology, electronics, aviation, electric cars, logistics, energy, health, finance, e-commerce, food and tourism.

Ted Osius announced that Pepsi will build two modern factories using renewable energy, including a US$90 million food processing factory in the northern province of Ha Nam and a US$300 million beverage factory in the southern province of Long An.

U.S. businesses recommended Viet Nam continue improving the legal framework and speeding up administrative procedures reform, especially in terms of investment licensing, work permits and visas.

Viet Nam should have preferential mechanisms, especially tax incentives in some priority areas and promote the development of circular economy, green economy, green transportation development, carbon emission reduction, and energy conversion; infrastructure and logistics development, the U.S. enterprises suggested./.