Participants attend the webinar “Promoting Việt Nam-US trade co-operation in the context of COVID-19”, which was organised late Wednesday in Hà Nội. — VNS Photo Linh Anh

HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese and US firms shared ways to cope with the coronavirus crisis and to overcome immense challenges inflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic during an online trade exchange event on Wednesday.

The webinar “Promoting Việt Nam-US trade co-operation in the context of COVID-19” was organised by the Việt Nam Trade Promotion Agency in coordination with Vietnamese Trade Office in the Embassy of Việt Nam in Washington DC, Vietrade New York and the Embassy of the US in Hà Nội.

Speaking at the event, Ambassador Đặng Đình Quý, head of the Việt Nam Permanent Mission to the United Nations, said the two countries would surely offer the best conditions for their firms to develop, thus helping lift bilateral ties to a new height.

Sharing the same view, Minister Counsellor Bùi Huy Sơn, head of the Việt Nam Trade Office in the US, said the event would enable US enterprises to learn about the promising Vietnamese market and make it easier for Vietnamese firms to approach the huge US market.

Director of the Việt Nam Trade Promotion Agency (Vietrade) Vũ Bá Phú said since the COVID-19 outbreak, the agency had held a number of online trade promotion events, especially in Việt Nam’s traditional and potential markets such as the US, India, Russia and Singapore, drawing hundreds of enterprises.

“The pandemic has caused many difficulties in worldwide trading. It has affected all fields of the global goods and services trading, which significantly impacts the production lines and business activities of all companies around the world,” Phú said.

“As most of the trade promotion activities between Việt Nam and the US have been postponed or slowed down since the outbreak of COVID-19, I hope that today's online trade conference will help businesses of both countries to be updated with the latest information on the current situation of Việt Nam and the US bilateral trade, exchange business opportunities and effectively support both sides' businesses to match with each other,” Phú said.

An Thế Dũng, director of the Vietrade Office in New York, said achievements in the fight against COVID-19 had made Việt Nam a safe destination for investors at a time of crisis.

“In order to penetrate deeper into the US market, Vietnamese businesses need to enhance their product quality in design and technology so as to match the tastes, interests and habits of US customers, thus building proper strategies to develop goods meeting the needs of a fastidious market like the US,” Lê Hoàng Tài, deputy director of the Việt Nam Trade Promotion Agency told Việt Nam News.

Data from the Ministry of Industry and Trade showed that Việt Nam still receives hundreds of transaction letters each day and thousands of enterprises accessed the Vietrade portal to seek opportunities. Two-way trade grew by over 4 per cent in the first five months of this year, with US exports to Việt Nam up 3 per cent.

Lauren Merkel from Empire State Development said that New York authorities, especially Governor Andrew Cuomo, are always ready to offer all possible support to Vietnamese businesses interested in doing business with New York partners, and vice versa.

Daniel Pint from the US Department of Commerce introduced US firms to participants, as well as their requirements for exports and imports. He added that business opportunities with the US are abundant and the US is ready to offer opportunities to qualified and capable partners.

According to the General Department of Việt Nam Customs, two-way trade between Việt Nam and the US has grown by 20 per cent on average each year, from US$41.28 billion in 2015 to $75.72 billion in 2019.

Việt Nam is now the 16th largest trade partner of the US in the world, while the US is the third biggest trade partner of the Southeast Asian nation.

With a gross domestic product (GDP) average growth rate of nearly 7 per cent each year and a 100-million population, Việt Nam is expected to become a promising market for US companies in the fields of agriculture, renewable energy, telecommunications, aviation or finance-banking. — VNS