Series of Vietnam-US technology projects announced during President Biden's visit

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with President Joe Biden on the morning of September 11. Photo: Pham Hai

During this visit, President Biden and Secretary of State Blinken, along with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung, Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung and many leaders of Vietnamese ministries and sectors attended the Vietnam-US Investment and Innovation Talks. The talks discussed priorities in promoting technological and economic cooperation between the two countries, including promoting investment from Vietnam to the US. Attending the talks were representatives of leading technology corporations of the two countries such as Boeing Global, Marvell, Intel, Amkor Technology, Google, Vietnam Airlines, VinFast, VNG, FPT, BRG, Momo, etc.

“We welcome the progress of the cooperation between Vietnamese and US businesses with new and expanded cooperation projects that will help increase trade between the two countries in the coming time,” the White House statement emphasized.

A series of typical Vietnam-US technology cooperation projects include the semiconductor supply chain Amkor Technology (headquartered in Arizona) will set up a factory in Bac Ninh, officially operating from October 2023. The total investment for this project is 1.6 billion USD. Synopsys (headquartered in California) will launch a semiconductor design and innovation incubation center in cooperation with the Ho Chi Minh City High-Tech Park. Marvell (headquartered in California) will also announce the construction of a world-class semiconductor design center in Ho Chi Minh City.

In the field of financial services and capital market development, VNG recently filed for an IPO on the NASDAQ, becoming the first Vietnamese technology company to be listed in the US. Along with VNG, several other Vietnamese enterprises are also approaching the US capital market to serve their innovation and growth needs.

On this occasion, Microsoft and Trusting Social will announce an agreement to develop a generative AI-based solution tailored for Vietnam and emerging markets. NVIDIA will partner with FPT, Viettel and Vingroup to deploy AI in the cloud computing, automotive and healthcare industries. Meta Platforms and the Vietnam National Innovation Center will announce the Vietnam Innovation Challenge, a program to promote digital transformation in the small and medium-sized enterprise sector.

Regarding new cooperation in the semiconductor sector, the US highly appreciates Vietnam's potential role in building the semiconductor supply chain and the two sides will cooperate to develop Vietnam's current semiconductor ecosystem, along with the corresponding legal corridor, human resources and infrastructure.

The partnership will develop workforce development initiatives to support U.S. semiconductor manufacturing capacity. The two countries will launch integrated workforce development initiatives through training courses in semiconductor assembly, testing, and packaging. The U.S. government will provide an initial $2 million in funding for these initiatives, with future support from the Vietnamese government and private sector.

In the field of developing the leading electronic and advanced technology partnership network (DELTA), the two countries plan to launch the DELTA Network with the participation of many countries in the region to coordinate the implementation of technology strategies, towards a safe and sustainable technology supply chain.

Regarding the Vietnam-US science and technology research agreement, the two countries plan to expand joint research in priority areas such as artificial intelligence, R&D, medicine and health, climate science, biotechnology and conservation, etc.

Previously, in a statement to the press on the evening of September 10, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong emphasized: “The contents of the new cooperative relationship inherit the existing cooperation contents between the two countries and bring them to a new level through promoting economic, trade and investment cooperation in the direction of innovation as the foundation, focus and driving force of the bilateral relationship; strengthening scientific and technological cooperation is a new breakthrough of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for Peace, Cooperation and Sustainable Development. In the coming time, relevant agencies of the two countries will coordinate to implement the agreements reached, creating conditions for the development of the next steps.”

In a speech to the press, US President Biden also affirmed: "We will strengthen cooperation in key and emerging technology areas, especially in building a more resilient supply chain for the semiconductor industry. We also expand our economic partnership to further promote investment and trade cooperation between the two countries."

As an example, Mr. Biden cited a Vietnamese company that signed a $4 billion deal last year to build an electric car and battery factory in the US state of North Carolina. This also helped create more than 7,000 jobs. World-class Vietnamese technology companies have been and will be listed on the US stock market, and many more important commercial contracts will be signed during this visit.

“We are also investing to further develop a skilled workforce in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and promoting exchanges in education to help scientists, or entrepreneurs and innovative businesses can work together better to seize the great opportunities in this new technology age,” said US President Biden.

Digital cooperation: Top priority in the Vietnam-US comprehensive strategic partnership Digital cooperation is one of the priority focuses, first mentioned in the Action Plan to implement the Joint Statement between the two Leaders.

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