Viet Nam seeks USTDA support for strategic projects

General Secretary and President To Lam made the request during a meeting with USTDA Acting Director Thomas R. Hardy in New York on September 21 (local time).

The Vietnamese leader spoke highly of USTDA's role in promoting economic, trade and investment cooperation between Viet Nam and the U.S., particularly through project preparation, feasibility studies, technical assistance and connections between U.S. businesses and infrastructure projects in Viet Nam.

He affirmed that Viet Nam attaches great importance to its Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with the U.S. and expressed his hope that economic, trade, investment and science-technology cooperation will continue to serve as an important driver of substantive, effective and sustainable development of bilateral ties.

To Lam highly valued USTDA's long-standing cooperation with Viet Nam in areas including energy, power grids, aviation, smart cities and digital infrastructure, saying these programs have helped Viet Nam gain access to U.S. technologies, management expertise and advanced solutions.

Viet Nam is entering a new development phase with growing demand for strategic infrastructure, energy, transport, logistics, digital transformation and high technology, he said, noting that these are areas where the U.S. has considerable strengths and USTDA has relevant experience and support tools.

Regarding future cooperation, General Secretary and President To Lam called on USTDA to strengthen coordination with Vietnamese ministries, sectors and businesses to select a number of strategic projects with high spillover effects for focused support.

He suggested that priority be given to energy and power grids, digital infrastructure and data centers, aviation, seaports, logistics and modern transport, while urging USTDA to further play its "pathfinder" role from the project-preparation stage, helping Viet Nam gain early access to US standards, technologies, management expertise and resources.

The Vietnamese leader also called on USTDA to pay greater attention to emerging, technology-intensive and high-value-added areas, including artificial intelligence (AI), secure digital infrastructure, smart grids, energy security and solutions supporting the green transition.

To Lam further encouraged the agency to strengthen links between leading U.S. technology, finance and infrastructure companies and Vietnamese partners.

For his part, Thomas R. Hardy hailed Viet Nam's socio-economic development achievements and the positive growth momentum of Viet Nam-U.S. relations, affirming that USTDA regards Viet Nam as an important partner in the Indo-Pacific region.

USTDA wishes to continue working with Viet Nam to prepare and develop high-quality projects that meet the country's development priorities while creating greater opportunities for U.S. technologies, equipment, services and businesses to participate in the Vietnamese market, he said.

Hardy said USTDA stands ready to deploy tools such as feasibility studies, technical assistance, pilot projects and trade missions, supporting projects from the preparation stage through to their readiness to attract financing and move into implementation.

Viet Nam's substantial infrastructure development needs, together with U.S. strengths in technology, governance and high-quality solutions, offer significant opportunities for new cooperation, Hardy said.

USTDA will strengthen coordination with Vietnamese agencies and businesses, focusing on concrete and feasible projects with strong spillover effects, while connecting Viet Nam's development needs with US technologies, resources and businesses, he affirmed.

Such efforts will contribute to deepening economic, trade and investment cooperation and adding further substantive content to the Viet Nam-U.S. Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, he added./.