The delegation from Washington, led by State Senator June Robinson, included leaders of the state government, businesses, associations, and universities.

Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Duy Dong highly appreciated the visit and said both sides would work to their strengths to develop cooperation and investment.

"The MPI highly appreciates the role of Washington state's government in strengthening cooperation among businesses, universities, and organisations. That is an important way of boosting investment and trade between Vietnam and the United States," Dong said.

"The comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries highlights innovation and high technologies (including semiconductors and AI) as breakthroughs for cooperation. This is a golden time for US businesses to look for and expand investments in these sectors in Vietnam," Dong said.

Vietnam is preparing human resources in the semiconductor, AI, and energy infrastructure industries to prepare for upcoming cooperation and investment with businesses from Washington.

"Vietnam is rapidly developing transport infrastructure, and has established a government task force to review and remove obstacles, and accelerate these projects," Dong said, adding that the MPI would support Washington investors looking to do business in the country.

State Senator Robinson confirmed, "Washington state is a US leader in the high-tech industry. The likes of Microsoft, Amazon and many other companies have their headquarters in the state."

The two sides should also look at partnerships in agriculture and education.

Christopher Green, assistant director at Washington's Department of Commerce, said the semiconductor industry is important globally. "It's a complex global supply chain, and we are actively working with many large companies globally on large-scale investments," he said.

TSMC, one of the leaders in this industry, has a facility in Washington state that does legacy chip manufacturing.

"We are also working right now with the US federal government and the US Department of Commerce related to the Chips and Science Act, and large-scale investments that the US government has in the semiconductor industry, while working on things like chip design," he added.

Washington is also working on quantum computing with a new manufacturer in North America. It will be the first company to manufacture at-scale quantum computers.

Clean energy and e-vehicles with new battery technology are very important, and Washington is working with universities on battery technology and research and development.

"We'd like to look for additional opportunities and mutually beneficial investments, so we have encouraged some of Washington's firms to do more business in Vietnam or open facilities here. Vietnam's National Innovation Centre (NIC) offers an excellent opportunity," Green said. "And similarly, as Vietnamese companies based here continue to grow and look to expand into global marketplaces, Washington is a great place to start a North American expansion strategy."

Dong proposed that organisations, businesses, and universities in Washington state and the US consider investment cooperation, building training centres, R&D, business incubation, and technology demonstration areas at the NIC.

"I would like to strengthen links between Washington state businesses, universities, and research institutes with Vietnamese partners to improve training quality and increase output for human resources in the high-tech, semiconductor industry, as well as supporting lecturers, textbooks, providing software copyrights, equipment, technology infrastructure, and scholarships for Vietnamese students to study in Washington," Dong said.

Source: Vietnam Investment Review