“Vietnam will do its utmost to widen and deepen its relations with the US for peace, stability and development in the region and the world,” emphasized Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung at his meeting with outgoing US Ambassador to Vietnam Michael Marine in Hanoi August 3.
Dung highly appreciated Michael Marine’s contributions to Vietnam-US cooperation, especially in the fields of economics, trade and investment.
The US ambassador had good remarks on Vietnam-US ties in recent years and said that dialogue on religious freedom was a positive way to build good bilateral relations between Vietnam and the US. Michael Marine also affirmed the US’s willingness to cooperate with Vietnam in many fields.
During three years of his post as the US ambassador to Vietnam Michael W. Marine has convinced US politic circles to raise non-refundable aid to Vietnam.
Earlier, Michael W. Marine was also received by Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet and Vietnamese Government Office Chairman Doan Manh Giao.
As of June 22 this year the US ranked eighth among countries and territories investing into Vietnam in terms of registered capital with 335 projects capitalized at US$2.32 billion.
The head of the US Department of Commerce will lead a business mission to Vietnam in early September this year to seek investment opportunities in Vietnam.
Ho Chi Minh City, the biggest economic hub of Vietnam, is now awaiting more US investment into the city’s infrastructure development, said municipal Party chief Le Thanh Hai at his recent meeting with newly-appointed US Consul General Kenneth J. Fairfax.
Trade between Vietnam and the US reached nearly US$9.7 billion in 2006, compared with nearly US$8 billion in 2005. Vietnam mainly exports coffee, tea, footwear, crude oil, seafood, apparel, rice and furniture to the US, and imports cotton, power-generating equipment, fertilizers, optical and photo equipment, and vehicles. (Foreign Ministry)
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