Socialist Republic of Vietnam

Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan has called on the US to facilitate cooperation between the city and US partners to establish a start-up ecosystem, promote innovation, and develop smart city project and innovation centre in District 2, District 9 and Thu Duc district.

He made the appeal while meeting with Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Thomas Shannon and Senior Director for Asian Affairs at the National Security Council Matthew Pottinger on December 15 as part of his ongoing visit to the US.

The US’s assistance in the fields is important since the National Assembly of Vietnam has approved a Resolution piloting the implementation of particular mechanisms for HCM City’s development, Nhan said.

He described 2017 as a special year in the Vietnam-US relations with the official visit to Vietnam by US President Donald Trump on the occasion of the APEC Economic Leaders’ Week in Da Nang city in November, which helped further bilateral cooperation.

Shannon noted that more than 20,000 Vietnamese students are learning in the US, which lays a crucial foundation for the two countries to boost win-win cooperation in education and human resources.

He said the US will step up relations with Vietnam in the coming time, especially in the fields of trade and investment.

The US Government will coordinate with Vietnam to address post-war consequences and carry out detoxification at Bien Hoa airport in southern Dong Nai province while considering assistance for the Mekong Delta to cope with climate change, he added.

He also mentioned other cooperation programmes between the two countries, including the building of the Fulbright University in Vietnam.

For his part, Pottinger highly valued determination and efforts of HCM City in environmental protection and believed the city will be a leading destination for US businesses in Vietnam.-VNA