On 23/9, in New York, General Secretary and President To Lam attended a roundtable discussion with leaders of major US businesses. The event took place during his working visit to the US, coinciding with the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly's high-level debate, according to TTXVN.

During the discussion, the General Secretary and President stated that Vietnam-US economic cooperation needs to improve quality, technological content, and productivity, while increasing the participation of businesses from both countries in strategic value chains. He proposed three pillars of cooperation with US enterprises.

The first pillar is for businesses from both nations to jointly develop science and technology, innovation, and industrial competitiveness. Vietnam values the quality of investment capital, accompanying technology, research and development activities, human resource training, and the level of linkage with domestic enterprises. He expressed hope that US corporations would participate in training engineers, experts, and managers, and support Vietnamese businesses in becoming suppliers within global value chains.

The second pillar involves cooperation in energy development, infrastructure, and green growth. According to the General Secretary and President, the energy sector must meet demands for supply security, reasonable costs, and competitiveness. Infrastructure needs to better connect economic regions and production centers with seaports, airports, and international markets. Green transition should create new industries, technologies, and business opportunities.

The final pillar focuses on developing the financial system and capital markets to fund a new phase of growth. Vietnam is establishing international financial centers in TP HCM and Da Nang, encouraging long-term investment, venture capital, and green finance. He suggested that US financial institutions could help enhance market capacity, risk management, and the long-term investment ecosystem.

General Secretary and President To Lam shakes hands with US business representatives at the roundtable discussion, 23/9, in New York. Photo: TTXVN.

General Secretary and President To Lam expressed his wish for US businesses to view Vietnam as a rapidly developing manufacturing hub and consumer market. Vietnam serves as a gateway to the ASEAN market, home to approximately 680 million people, and aims to become the 4th largest economy globally by 2045.

He stated that Vietnam is ready to increase imports of US technology products and services. Concurrently, he urged the US to create conditions for Vietnamese goods and businesses to access its market fairly and transparently. He also welcomed technology corporations to invest in Vietnam, particularly in artificial intelligence (AI).

He proposed that business associations continue to act as a bridge with regulatory agencies. Agreements reached after the discussion should have clear focal points, timelines, and implementation plans, leading to specific projects, capital flows, technology, and jobs.

He affirmed that Vietnam will continue to improve its institutions, reform procedures, protect the legitimate rights and interests of investors, ensure fair competition, and remove bottlenecks. Concurrently, Vietnam will continue to invest significantly in foundational conditions for a modern economy, such as high-quality human resources, stable energy, transport infrastructure, logistics, digital infrastructure, capital markets, and an innovation ecosystem.

During the roundtable discussion, General Secretary and President To Lam witnessed the signing ceremony of contracts and cooperation agreements between agencies and businesses from both countries in digital transformation, high technology, artificial intelligence (AI), aviation, green energy, healthcare, and telecommunications. Notably, Vietjet signed an agreement with Starlink, the satellite internet service developed and operated by billionaire Elon Musk's SpaceX, to provide free high-speed internet on its aircraft. Initially, the Starlink network will be equipped on 120 wide-body and narrow-body Vietjet aircraft.

National airline Vietnam Airlines also signed a memorandum of cooperation with two major players, Visa and Amazon Web Services (AWS), covering payment, tourism, technology, and data. AWS, one of the world's leading cloud computing service providers, will support Vietnam Airlines in developing artificial intelligence, digital transformation, and in-flight internet.

After the roundtable discussion with US businesses, General Secretary and President To Lam departed New York for Ottawa, beginning a state visit at the invitation of Governor General of Canada Louise Arbour.

Phuong Dung