Vietnamese Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son (L) and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken co-chair the first Vietnam-U.S. Dialogue at the foreign ministerial level, Washington DC, March 2024

Vietnam-U.S. relations entered a new era as of September 10, 2023, when the two countries officially upgraded their partnership to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for Peace, Cooperation, and Sustainable Development. This elevated framework has significantly enhanced cooperation across many sectors and is regarded as a foundation for reinforcing the relationship between the two countries.

The economic relationship between Vietnam and the United States has proven to be strong, progressive, and optimistic. U.S. Department of Agriculture Undersecretary Alexis Taylor recently led the largest agricultural trade delegation ever to Vietnam, bringing representatives from 50 U.S. businesses and nine states’ Departments of Agriculture to mark the first anniversary of the Vietnam-U.S. Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. In June, Ambassador Marc Knapper led a record-breaking delegation of 65 Vietnamese businesses to the SelectUSA Investment Summit in Washington, D.C., with a record number of female executives in attendance. The first Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Economic Dialogue, which is a new forum to discuss economic and policy cooperation, was also held in June.

The U.S. Mission to Vietnam, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is supporting Vietnam’s growing digital economy, through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed with the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) for a US$3.2 million new program focused on digital trade. USAID also launched a partnership with the Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Agribank) and Vietnam Prosperity Joint Stock Commercial Bank (VPBank) to expand finance opportunities for small and growing enterprises in the agriculture sector. In August, Vietnam approved the import of California nectarines and peaches to Vietnam.

Since the upgrade to the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for Peace, Cooperation, and Sustainable Development, the U.S. Semiconductor Industry Association has visited Vietnam twice, bringing a business delegation during their second visit. The 2024 U.S.-ASEAN Business Council Delegation to Vietnam was the largest in the USABC’s 40-year history. The Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) and Vietnam Development Bank signed a US$500 million MOU to support U.S. export financing to advance Vietnam’s green economy transition, infrastructure development projects, and climate-related projects. The State Department’s Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy and the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi facilitated the “Regional Secure and Diverse ICT Infrastructure Connectivity” workshop in Ha Long, which attracted over 25 companies from the United States and ASEAN partners.

The U.S. Mission to Vietnam is enhancing technical skills training and workforce development at every level through expanded Vietnam-U.S. institutional and public-private partnerships. This includes expanded English language training for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) students, new exchange programs focused on workforce development, new Fulbright scholarship opportunities for STEM students and experts, and the September 11 launch of the new US$4 million ITSI-CHIPS Workforce Accelerator Program in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to build capacity in the semiconductor industry. Through these and other efforts including USAID’s new US$15.5 million Higher Education Development Support project, the United States continues to partner with Vietnam in the modernization and internationalization of key science and technology programs to provide high-quality education and develop a highly skilled, globally competitive workforce.

In addition to fostering economic and investment cooperation, the United States and Vietnam have strengthened diplomatic ties, bolstered defense and security cooperation, and expanded efforts to address unresolved post-war issues. Their partnership has also advanced energy efficiency, environmental protection, and economic security. These activities have yielded both immediate and long-term benefits for the two countries, while also contributing to regional and global security, peace, and development.