Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Lê Minh Khái and United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai had a virtual meeting. — VNA/VNS Photo

WASHINGTON DC — Deputy Prime Minister Lê Minh Khái had a meeting with United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai in Boston on April 2 (local time), as part of his US trip for the Việt Nam Executive Leadership Programme (VELP).

Khái highlighted Việt Nam's consistent policy of building an independent and self-reliant economy in association with active, extensive, and effective international integration.

He underscored that the establishment of the comprehensive strategic partnership between Việt Nam and the US in September 2023 has created new spaces and motivations for bilateral cooperation in various areas.

The two sides should continue effectively implementing their comprehensive strategic partnership framework, especially in breakthrough areas of science-technology, innovation, education-training, he said, proposing that Việt Nam and the US should continue specifying the partnership, ensuring that bilateral cooperation brings practical benefits to businesses and peoples of the two countries.

For her part, Tai expressed her delight at the development of the Việt Nam-US relations since the two sides upgraded their ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership, and affirmed that she will coordinate with the Vietnamese side in implementing agreed contents in the joint statement on the upgrade, especially in the fields of economy, trade, and investment.

The US Trade Representative expressed her hope to further promote bilateral collaboration through the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) and negotiations for the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) in the coming time.

The same day, Deputy PM Khái also had a meeting with Vietnamese intellectuals who are lecturers and experts at Harvard University as well as reputable companies and associations in Boston.

The intellectuals hailed Việt Nam's socio-economic achievements, holding that its position and prestige has risen in the world arena, and affirming that they always turn their hearts and minds to the homeland.

They said they hope the Vietnamese National Assembly and Government will provide overseas Vietnamese with more favourable mechanisms and policies, enabling them to make greater contributions to the Fatherland.

They also voiced a number of proposals and recommendations in the fields of semiconductors, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and financial market development, and asserted that Việt Nam has opportunities to catch up with other countries in terms of science and technology development, especially in the emerging sciences.

Deputy PM Khái briefed the intellectuals on Việt Nam's achievements in socio-economic development and external relations over the years, underscoring that the Government is drastically working for the targets set in the five-year socio-economic development plan, with priority given to science and technology development and innovation, especially in the areas of electronics - semiconductor, and artificial intelligence.

He said that the Party, State, and Government always consider the Vietnamese community abroad an inseparable part of the nation, and expressed his hope that the community will continue to implement specific projects and activities to implement Việt Nam's socio-economic development priorities.

Acknowledging ideas and proposals of the intellectuals, the Deputy PM pledged that ministries and sectors at home will consider them during the design of new policies in the future. — VNS