HCM CITY — The People’s Committee of Cần Thơ City on June 4 held a meeting with the US ambassador and others to discuss investment potential and chances to promote multidisciplinary cooperation between Cần Thơ City and US businesses and government agencies.

US Ambassador to Việt Nam Daniel Kritenbrink said that bilateral relations between Việt Nam and the US is going strong, and that companies from both countries have been given multiple chances to collaborate.

As Cần Thơ City is a key trade hub, education and health centre in the Mekong Delta, many US firms are interested in forming a long-term, stable relationship with the city.

The US Embassy in Việt Nam will continue to support Cần Thơ City and other provinces in the Mekong Delta via the US programme on sustainable agriculture, he said.

Participating in the programme, agricultural firms in Cần Thơ and the Mekong Delta will have opportunities to grow and develop agricultural products on US land.

This will foster information exchanges between the two countries as many educational agencies in the US are willing to share their findings on new technologies that can be applied to agricultural production.

Kritenbrink also stressed potential collaboration in the import and export of rice between the two countries.

Due to the increasing number of Asians in the US, the US plans to import more rice from Asian countries. Cần Thơ City is among the leading choices for quality rice, he said.

As for the medical field, the US Embassy in Việt Nam will ask the US government for assistance in building a public health emergency operations centre (EOC) in Cần Thơ.

Cần Thơ City will play an important role in studies and prevention of diseases in the southern region.

The US Embassy in Việt Nam will also collaborate with agencies to organise tours for environmental scientists and researchers to visit specific regions in the US that have similar structure to that of the Mekong Delta area.

From the experiences gained, they can draft plans for the Mekong Delta.

The chairman of the Cần Thơ City People’s Committee, Võ Thành Thống, agreed with the US Embassy’s plans and proposals and affirmed that collaboration with the US is among the city’s top priorities.

Thống committed to improving the local investment and business environment, and fostering administrative reform, among other plans.

He hopes to see more regular meetings with US firms to introduce what Cần Thơ City has to offer. — VNS