NA Vice Chairwoman Nguyễn Thị Thanh (right) presents a souvenir to California's State Treasurer Fiona Ma at their meeting on Monday. — VNA/VNS Photo

WASHINGTON — California state of the US has always considered Việt Nam a top partner and places high priority on promoting its relationship with the country, said State Treasurer Fiona Ma.

Receiving Vietnamese National Assembly Vice Chairwoman Nguyễn Thị Thanh on Monday as part of the latter's US trip to attend the 69th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, Ma praised Việt Nam's dynamism, creativity and entrepreneurial spirit that she felt when leading a trade delegation to the nation in November 2024. Looking forward, she proposed deepening collaboration in priority areas such as sci-tech, education-training, and tourism.

For her part, Thanh hailed California as a global tech hub, an economic powerhouse and home to the largest Vietnamese community globally. She highlighted thriving partnerships between California and Vietnamese localities in recent years, including twinning ties between San Francisco and HCM City, and Riverside and Cần Thơ.

The Vietnamese official thanked California’s administration for supporting the Vietnamese community, making it one of the most successful in the US. With Việt Nam seeing human resource development as a strategic breakthrough for future growth, she urged the California authorities, particularly State Treasurer, to expand educational ties through joint training partnerships, especially in higher education.

In a separate discussion with Senator Josh Becker, Chair of the Senate Committee on Energy, Utilities and Communications, Thanh reaffirmed that Việt Nam considers the US a strategically important partner and wishes to work closely with the US to effectively advance their comprehensive strategic partnership across various sectors, including locality-to-locality ties, particularly with California.

She underscored the significance of parliamentary ties within the broader Việt Nam-US relationship, with California’s legislature being a priority.

Becker voiced strong support for closer California-Việt Nam relations, particularly through parliamentary channels. Noting growing interest from California firms in Việt Nam’s renewable energy sector, he pledged the state’s assistance to Việt Nam by sharing its expertise in clean energy and reliable power grid development.

The same day, Thanh met with prominent Vietnamese intellectuals and business leaders in California, following an earlier meeting with staff from the Vietnamese Consulate General in San Francisco and representatives of Vietnamese agencies on the West Coast of the US. — VNS