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Prime Minister Le Minh Hung met with a delegation of 52 leading U.S. companies led by Brian McFeeters, Acting Chair and CEO of the U.S.-ASEAN Business Council (USABC), during a visit to explore opportunities for investment cooperation in Vietnam. At the meeting, representatives of USABC, the U.S. Embassy in Vietnam and the U.S. companies praised Vietnam’s achievements in socio-economic development, the investment climate and the business environment, as well as Vietnam’s strategic orientation for the new period, particularly the objective of rapid, sustainable growth based on science and technology, innovation and digital transformation.
The U.S. side expressed confidence in Vietnam’s development prospects and said it wants to expand long-term investment in areas including energy, technology and innovation, finance, aerospace, automobiles, logistics, advanced manufacturing, healthcare, agriculture, consumer goods, tourism and the creative economy. The companies also urged Vietnam to continue reforming institutions, simplifying administrative procedures, developing coherent infrastructure, and improving the quality of human resources.
In his remarks, Prime Minister Le Minh Hung welcomed the broad presence of U.S. enterprises, saying it reflects growing interest from the U.S. business community in Vietnam’s market.
The Prime Minister said Vietnam is transforming its growth model toward science and technology, innovation and digital transformation, while reforming the organizational apparatus with a development-oriented approach that fully leverages all economic sectors, with the private sector as an important driver of the economy.
Vietnam, he added, views the United States as one of its top partners and hopes to promote the Vietnam-U.S. Comprehensive Partnership in a stable, sustainable manner, delivering tangible benefits for people and businesses in both countries.
Against a backdrop of global volatility, the Prime Minister said the Vietnam-U.S. relationship continues to develop positively, substantively and effectively. He pointed to the recent meeting between General Secretary and President To Lam and U.S. President Donald Trump, which he said strengthened momentum for cooperation in economics, trade, investment, science and technology, and innovation.
To further boost bilateral economic ties, Prime Minister Le Minh Hung said Vietnam is ready to provide the most favorable conditions for U.S. enterprises to expand operations and invest productively. He said the government will take decisive steps to remove obstacles it can address, especially administrative procedures and business conditions, while remaining differences will continue to be discussed to balance interests.
The Prime Minister also said Vietnam is accelerating institutional reform and improving the investment and business climate to make it more transparent, open and efficient. He set targets for Q2 2026, requiring ministries and agencies to:
The Prime Minister urged USABC and the American business community to continue playing a bridging role, including promoting the United States to promptly reach a fair, balanced counterpart trade agreement with Vietnam. He also called for the United States to promptly recognize Vietnam as a market economy and remove Vietnam from the list of countries subject to export restrictions.
On specific cooperation areas, the Prime Minister said the government welcomes leading U.S. energy groups to invest in Vietnam to help ensure national energy security. In science and technology, he said Vietnam is ready to facilitate U.S. enterprises’ participation in research, investment in telecommunications infrastructure, 5G, submarine cables and core technology transfer.
He also noted that in February 2026, the Ministry of Science and Technology licensed Starlink satellite Internet services in Vietnam, and urged U.S. enterprises to step up cooperation with Vietnamese firms to help Vietnam participate more deeply in regional and global value chains.
As of the end of October 2025, two-way trade between Vietnam and the United States reached about $141.4 billion. The United States ranks 11th among foreign investors in Vietnam, with 1,501 projects and total registered capital of nearly $12.3 billion. Conversely, Vietnam has 266 investment projects in the United States with registered capital of about $1.4 billion.
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