Automobile assembling at Ford Vietnam Company, a joint venture between Ford Motor Group based in Michigan, USA and Song Cong Diesel Company. (Photo: VNA)

Participants at the event included Diane Farrell, Deputy Under Secretary for International Trade in the Department of Commerce; US Ambassador to Vietnam Marc Knapper; representatives from the Department of State, the Department of Energy and the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), the governments of a number of states in which Vietnamese enterprises have investment projects, and US associations and businesses who are doing business in Vietnam.

The Vietnamese businesses delegation to the 2023 SelectUSA Investment Summit comprises over 30 delegates representing 20 firms which have invested in the US or have an intention to do so in various industries, including electric vehicle and battery production and assembly, software, construction and interior decoration, logistics and transport, food processing and packaging.

Speaking at the gathering, Vietnamese Ambassador to the US Nguyen Quoc Dung highlighted the developments in Vietnam - US relations ten years after the two countries established a Comprehensive Partnership. The diplomat said he expects that Vietnamese businesses will find more partners and investment opportunities in the US, thereby further tightening the bilateral relations.

Deputy Under Secretary Farrell pledged that the US Government will create favourable conditions for Vietnamese firms to make the right choices when investing in the country.

Vietnamese enterprises shared their business plans in the North American country and expressed their hope that the two governments' agencies will continue to support their business and investment activities in the US.

The same day, Ambassador Dung and Ambassador Knapper attended a roundtable discussion organised by The Asia Group with American firms.

At the event, US businesses spoke highly of Vietnam's development potential, presented their investment plans in the Southeast Asian nation and contributed ideas to further promote the country's development, especially in fields of energy, aviation, technology and response to climate change.

SelectUSA Investment Summit is an important annual conference aimed at attracting direct investment in the US. This year, the conference was held from May 1-4 in the state of Maryland, drawing nearly 4,000 attendees, including more than 1,200 investors from over 70 countries and territories around the world.

The US is still the world's leading recipient of foreign direct investment.