Vietnam - US hold second round of negotiations on reciprocal trade

The second negotiation session took place in Washington DC, USA. Photo: T. Linh

According to the plan agreed upon by both sides, the second negotiation session of the Bilateral Agreement on Reciprocal Trade between Vietnam and the United States was held from May 19 to 22 in Washington DC, United States.

The Vietnamese negotiating delegation was led by Minister of Industry and Trade , Head of the Government Negotiating Delegation Nguyen Hong Dien, with the participation of representatives from ministries and sectors including: Public Security, Foreign Affairs, Finance, Construction, Home Affairs, Agriculture and Environment, Science and Technology, Justice, and the State Bank.

On May 19 (local time, ie May 19 and 20 Hanoi time), the Vietnamese and US negotiating delegations spent time discussing a comprehensive approach to resolve fundamental issues of mutual concern and speed up the negotiation process.

The two sides also discussed openly, frankly and constructively on issues of mutual concern in order to clarify the contents of the agreement text and provide each other with information on each side's current policies, thereby providing a basis for implementing the next steps.

The Government negotiating delegation met before and after the first working day. Photo: T. Linh

On the same day, Minister Nguyen Hong Dien worked with Westinghouse Corporation - one of the world's leading corporations in nuclear power technology.

At the meeting, Minister Nguyen Hong Dien said that Vietnam has a policy to restart the nuclear power program to ensure energy security in the context of high electricity demand and unstable renewable energy.

Vietnam will take a cautious, modern and practical approach. Vietnam currently has many potential locations for nuclear power development.

This is the basis for promoting cooperation with international partners such as Westinghouse, including large-scale and small-scale nuclear power (SMR) projects. Energy development cooperation will also be an important driving force contributing to balancing the bilateral trade balance.

Ms. Margaret Cosentino, Vice President of Westinghouse, expressed strong support for Vietnam's plan, while emphasizing the importance of long-term energy cooperation.

The two sides agreed to share information and sign a memorandum of understanding between Westinghouse and the Vietnam National Energy and Industry Group (Petrovietnam) in the field of nuclear power development, continuing to promote cooperation, especially in key areas such as developing energy infrastructure investment models (PPP, BOT), technology transfer as well as training and developing technical human resources for the nuclear power industry.

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/viet-nam-hoa-ky-dam-phan-phien-thu-2-ve-thuong-mai-doi-ung-702848.html