Five trade agreements signed during visit of US Secretary of Commerce

US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross visited Vietnam. Source:VGP

The US Secretary of Commerce's visit is part of a larger trade mission in the Indo-Pacific region with stops in Bangkok, Thailand, Jakarta, and Indonesia.

On this occasion, Secretary Ross and business delegates met with Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh, the American Chamber of Commerce and other public-private stakeholders in Vietnam to discuss US-Vietnam trade and investment co-operation in energy, health, transport, and smart cities.

“Many big US corporations joined the visit, showing great interest in the potential of the Vietnamese market and we need to take advantage of this opportunity,” Ross said.

According to him, the US Ministry of Commerce has planned to take a delegation of businesses to Vietnam to promote co-operation in energy in March 2020.

At the meeting, Secretary Ross and PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc witnessed the signing of five major business agreements and MOUs to deepen trade partnership.

Remarkably, there was a MoU between AES Corporation and the Ministry of Industry and Trade to strengthen co-operation in Son My II Power Plant in Binh Thuan province which was approved in September with the total investment of $1.7 billion. Along with the $1.4 billion Son My Liquefied Natural Gas Imports Harbour, the factory has a total investment value of $3.1 billion and is expected to be in operation in 2024.

Meanwhile, Vietnam Airlines also signed two agreements on engine maintenance, including one valued $1 billion with Pratt & Whitney and the other a multi-million-dollar deal with Saber Airline Solutions.

The other agreements include an MoU between Varian Medical Systems based in California and the National Institute of Medical Facilities and Equipment; a contract between Murphy Oil and PetroVietnam, as well as another between PVEP and SK Innovations.