Officials of Hoa Binh province led by Bui Van Khanh, Vice Secretary of the provincial Party Committee and Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, along with others from the provinces also taking part in a programme on promoting Vietnamese localities in the US and Canada, visited and had a working session with the Consulate General of Vietnam in Houston on April 24 (local time). The delegation was welcomed by Hoang Thuy Duong, Consul General of Vietnam in the city, and staff members of the consulate.
Bui
Van Khanh, Vice Secretary of the Hoa Binh Party Committee and Chairman of the
provincial People’s Committee, presents a gift to the Consulate General of
Vietnam in Houston.
Consul General Duong stressed that Texas, the
state where Houston is located, is about two times the size Vietnam, has a
population of about 30 million, and possesses an economy worth some 2.355
trillion USD (almost six times that of Vietnam).
Though this is just a state of the US, it has a
relatively big economy, so there are numerous opportunities for economic
cooperation with Vietnam, he said, noting that the upgrade of the Vietnam - US
ties in 2023 provides a golden chance for strengthening partnerships between
the two sides.
Due to its great distance, few Vietnamese
delegations have come here while local businesses also do not have many
relations with the Southeast Asian country. However, in fact, trade between
Vietnam and Texas still stood at around 23 billion USD in 2023, mainly imports
from Vietnam.
Texas businesses are now greatly interested in
Vietnamese localities as they want to boost investment cooperation in the
fields Texas is strong at. They have invested about 2.4 billion USD in 14
projects in the country so far, Duong noted.
Describing this state as a highly potential
trade partner of Vietnam, Duong said Texas is also home to a large number of
Vietnamese-origin people who form the second largest Vietnamese community in
the US. They have lived and worked here for generations and have close economic
and cultural links with the homeland.
Later on April 24, the Vietnamese provinces’
delegation, including businesses, participated in a seminar on enhancing
Vietnamese and US localities’ cooperation in export and green and sustainable
development. The event was held by the Department of Local Diplomacy
Facilitation by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The event was also attended by Ron Reynolds and
Christina Morales, members of the Texas House of Representatives; Jason Wilson,
Director at the US Commercial Service Office in Houston; and over 30
organisations and businesses based in Texas.
US and Vietnamese firms shared experience in
starting a business and economic cooperation. They also gave some proposals on
investment and trade partnerships between the Vietnamese provinces and
Texas-based companies.
Representatives of the two sides’ businesses and
administrations also discussed and exchanged information.
On April 23 afternoon, after the Vietnamese
delegation arrived in Houston, Nguyen Huy Nhuan, Director of the Hoa Binh
provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, and executives of
the RYB joint Stock Company had a meeting with C&T Produce Wholesale, Inc.
dba L&V Food Supply, a company recently importing the Dien pomelo from Hoa
Binh, to help the firm learn more about the products under the "One Commune,
One Product” (OCOP) programme and key farm produce of Hoa Binh so that it can
consider importing them into the US in the coming time.
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