The forum was held within the framework of the “Meet Vietnam” event in the US .

Deputy PM Trong affirmed that in entering the Vietnamese market, investors are considered to be a part of the economy, reaching the market of 85 million consumers and a larger market of over 600 million people from other ASEAN countries.

He said he encourages investors to discover the market by pursuing practical cooperation opportunities in Vietnam ’s three leading economic centres: Da Nang , Ho Chi Minh City and Can Tho.

After Deputy PM Trong’s speech, representatives from the three major cities spoke on their investment environment in terms of policies, potential, and priorities and highlighted projects waiting for investment.

Later, a talk on information and technology was held, focussing on the potential of Vietnam in the field, which offers human resources and policies attractive to US software companies.

A representative from Agilis Solutions of the US reported on the company’s on-going success in Vietnam over many years.

The same day, Deputy PM Trong chaired a conference on Vietnam ’s educational system, affirming that Vietnam wants more advanced countries to help renew its higher education system in terms of university administration, finance, and teacher training. He called on US universities, schools, investors and the Vietnamese community in the US to offer suggestions, as well as to assist and cooperate in education to help Vietnam develop. He stated that the Vietnam-US cooperation agreement signed between the US Department of State and the Ministry of Education and Training was an important milestone in joint efforts between the two countries.

A representative of the Ministry of Education and Training presented an overview of strategies and priorities in university education in Vietnam .

Dr. Trexler Cary from California University talked about his experiences in working with the Ho Chi Minh City Agro-Forestry University over many years.