Photo source: TTXVN

On September 21, Vietnam's President Luong Cuong had a meeting with Ron Vachris, president and CEO of Costco, in the United States. Costco is one of the biggest retailers in the US, and has over 870 warehouses globally.

During the meeting, Vachris said, “Costco would like to closely partner with Vietnam’s key suppliers to bring suitable products to the market, thereby maintaining our long-term partnership with Vietnamese partners. It is estimated that Costco imports more than $1 billion worth of Vietnamese goods each year, such as textiles, footwear, furniture, seafood, cashew nuts, and coffee.”

He stated that Costco is interested in forming a strategic cooperation framework to develop production and supply capacity. The group is willing to share experience and guidance in adopting the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards.

President Cuong highly appreciated Costco’s business results and growing demand for sourcing Vietnamese goods in the group’s distribution system. “Costco’s cooperation initiative is a sound direction. This would help Vietnam penetrate deeper into the global value chain across spearhead sectors such as agriculture, fisheries, textiles, footwear, and light industry,” the president said.

The Vietnamese president further noted, “Vietnam welcomed Costco’s pioneering role in promoting ESG standards, in line with Vietnam’s sustainable development goals. Vietnam is ready for cooperation to transfer green technology, support local companies to improve production processes, reduce emissions and use renewable energy, and enhance product competitiveness.”

“With a population of nearly 100 million and a rapidly expanding consumer market, Vietnam is a highly promising destination for foreign partners. Vietnam welcomes Costco’s proposal to establish an official presence and make a long-term investment in Vietnam,” he added.