US-Vietnam business summit to take place

The 5th US-Vietnam Business Summit will take place today in Hanoi.

The conference will center around the future of bilateral commercial relations. Major focuses will be on Vietnam’s growing energy demand and the digital economy.

Expect eagerness to boost trade in the short- to-medium term. Vietnam will likely seek to attract US investment to support post-pandemic economic recovery. US President Joe Biden is set to hold a separate summit with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and other ASEAN leaders in Washington later this month.

To combat obstacles to economic growth, Vietnam is likely to promote several new Free Trade Agreements, namely with the EU and UK, in addition to US partnership. As a result, Hanoi is set to bolster exports in technology, textiles and agricultural commodities, which account for nearly two-thirds of total export turnover. As it aims to become a high-tech manufacturer by 2030, Vietnam will direct substantial foreign and domestic investment into this field. However, challenges remain, as limited shipping containers have caused shipping rates to remain high due to global supply chain disruptions. Additionally, new COVID-19 variants have the potential to slow global economic activity, but Vietnam’s high vaccination rate will allow domestic production to continue.