The US Ambassador to Việt Nam Marc Knapper speaks at the event. — VNA/VNS Photo Ngọc Thiện

HÀ NỘI — The Cần Thơ Promotion Agency and the Consulate General of the US in HCM City on Thursday in Cần Thơ City held a joint conference to promote business expansion to the US as well as accelerate bilateral economic, trade and investment cooperation.

Nguyễn Thực Hiện, deputy chairman of the municipal People’s Committee, said that the conference provides significant opportunities to leverage cooperation between Cần Thơ City and the Cửu Long (Mekong) River Delta with the US.

The municipal authority pledged to provide support for enterprises to expand their business into the US, while creating a favourable environment to make Cần Thơ an attractive destination for investments.

According to the US Ambassador to Việt Nam Marc Knapper, one of the priorities of the comprehensive strategic partnership between the US and Việt Nam is to promote bilateral economic cooperation based on the foundation of free and fair trade, contributing to the prosperity of the two countries.

The ambassador said that 2025 is the 30th anniversary of bilateral relations between Việt Nam and the US, hoping that Cần Thơ City and the Mekong Delta region will join the Vietnamese business delegation in attending the investment conference SelectUSA in the US.

Bilateral trade reached more than US$120 billion in 2023, and hit $100 billion in the first nine months of this year. The US is the largest export market for Việt Nam with a revenue of $89.4 billion, accounting for 29.8 per cent of the country’s total export value. Meanwhile, Việt Nam is the eighth largest trading partner of the US.

Cần Thơ’s exports to the US reached $106 million in the first 10 months of this year, or 5.5 per cent of the city’s total export value over this period, while it imported more than $2.6 million from the US.

The city mainly exports rice, fishery, agricultural, garment and steel products to the US, and imports pharmaceutical ingredients, agricultural chemicals and veterinary drugs. — VNS