US Ambassador to Vietnam Marc Knapper (L) presents a gift to Secretary of the Can Tho municipal Party Committee Nguyen Van Hieu.

According to Hieu, Can Tho is shifting from its traditional agriculture development to large-scale industrial development for greater economic efficiency, and gives priority to attracting foreign investors for this purpose.

The city also focuses on developing infrastructure in its industrial parks, particularly in hi-tech industrial zones, Hieu noted. He called on the US to support Can Tho in science - technology, education – training, as well as in healthcare to help the city and the Mekong Delta region effectively respond to diseases and improve medical services and medical workers' skills.

Ambassador Knapper noted that Vietnam and the US recently celebrated the first anniversary of their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (September 10, 2023 - 2024), and they will mark the 30th anniversary of the normalisation of the diplomatic relations in 2025, which will be a prime opportunity to boost economic, trade, investment cooperation, and education-training collaboration to develop high-quality human resources.

According to the diplomat, US partners have established strong relationships with Can Tho University and An Giang University. The US hopes to have more students from these institutions study in the US.

Regarding healthcare, environmental protection, and combating climate change, the US has been implementing many programmes and projects in Can Tho and across the Mekong Delta region, he added.

In the first nine months of 2024, Can Tho earned 106.29 million USD from exporting goods to the US market, with key products including agricultural goods, garments, handicrafts, and steel products. However, this figure is not commensurate with the city's potential to supply high-quality export commodities.

On the occasion, Knapper, US Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City Susan Burns, and a delegation from the US Embassy in Vietnam participated in a workshop to discuss ways for Can Tho’s businesses to expand business in the US. They also visited a circular agriculture model which produces organic fertilizer from rice straw, and a straw mushroom farming model at Tien Thuan Cooperative in Vinh Thanh district.