Hanoi (VNA) – The US attaches special importance to developing cooperativeties with Vietnam in different fields, visiting US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross told Minister of Industry andTrade Tran Tuan Anh.

In a meeting in Hanoi on November 8, Ross thankedthe Vietnamese Government for its efforts to improve the investment environmentand creating favourable conditions for US companies in particular and foreignbusinesses in general to effectively operate in Vietnam.

There is great potential for the two countries to foster economic cooperation,especially in the spheres of energy, aviation, and construction, he said,adding that the US delegation’s visit to Vietnam aims to further strengthenbilateral economic, trade and investment ties.

Ross hoped the Vietnamese Government would continue to make it easy for USbusinesses to expand investment and trade cooperation with Vietnamese partnersfor the sake of both nations.

For his part, Anh affirmed that building strategic trust is one of the mostimportant factors to substantially promote the comprehensive cooperative partnershipbetween Vietnam and the US for the benefits of their people.

The Government of Vietnam in general and the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT)in particular want to work closely with the US to deepen the bilateralcooperation in a practical and effective manner, especially in the fields of economy,trade and investment, he said.

Vietnam is taking many solutions to balance its trade with the US, such asstepping up cooperative ties with the federal government and stateadministrations in the fields of mutual interest and encouraging the import ofgoods and services from the US, the minister stressed.

Regarding cooperation in the fight against goods origin frauds and illegaltransshipment, Anh suggested that the two sides should further strengthen thecoordination mechanism, especially after the Customs Mutual Assistance Agreement (CMAA) is signed in the coming time.

He took the occasion to thank for the US side’s recent decision to recognise Vietnam's food safetycontrol system on catfish as equivalent to American regulations.

He appreciated the US for continuing to consider Vietnam as the focus of its Tradewindstrade promotion programme in 2020, noting that Vietnam will coordinate closelywith the US to ensure the programme’s success.

Anh spoke highly of Ross’s speech at the Indo Pacific Business Forum on thesidelines of the 35th ASEAN Summit in Thailand on November 4, whichspotlighted the Blue Dot Network initiative of the US to promote sustainableinfrastructure development with high-quality and reliable standards.

The MoIT is interested in promoting this relationship with the goal of buildingVietnam as a reliable partner of the US, he stressed.

Vietnam and the US have enjoyed continuous growth in bilateral trade andinvestment cooperation in recent years, with two-way trade hitting 60 billionUSD in 2018, and 35.4 billion USD in the first half of 2019. The US has been oneof the biggest trade partners of Vietnam for many years./.