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The US Trade Representative said that once signed and implemented, the agreement on reciprocal, fair and balanced trade would continue to open up new opportunities and prospects for cooperation between the two countries.

NEW YORK — Việt Nam attaches importance to its Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with the United States and wishes to work with the administration of President Donald J. Trump to continue advancing bilateral relations in a stable, substantive, effective and sustainable manner, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam Central Committee and President Tô Lâm has affirmed.

The leader made the affirmation at a meeting with US Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer in New York on the morning of September 21 (local time), as part of his trip to the US to attend the High-Level General Debate of the 81st Session of the UN General Assembly and conduct bilateral activities.

General Secretary and President Lâm stressed that economic, trade and investment cooperation is one of the most important pillars of bilateral relations, directly benefiting businesses and people and contributing to the development of both countries.

In recent years, Việt Nam has made efforts to substantively promote cooperation and purchase goods from the US in order to boost bilateral trade in a more balanced direction, while creating more orders, jobs and direct benefits for businesses and workers in both countries, he continued.

For his part, Greer highly appreciated the attention paid by General Secretary and President Lâm and Việt Nam's efforts to balance trade between the two countries. He also said that the two negotiating teams have made great efforts, and have so far made significant progress and come very close to reaching a final outcome.

The Trade Representative said that once signed and implemented, the agreement on reciprocal, fair and balanced trade would continue to open up new opportunities and prospects for cooperation between the two countries.

General Secretary and State President Lâm welcomed the very positive results achieved by the two sides toward the early signing of the agreement, creating a stable, long-term framework for economic, trade and investment relations.

He also called on the US to take a comprehensive approach to outstanding trade issues, including those related to investigations under Section 301 of the US Trade Act of 1974. On that basis, the leader expressed his wish that the two countries step up efforts to promote the substantive development of bilateral economic, trade and investment ties, thus bringing benefits to their people.

Vanguard, the world’s second-largest asset manager behind BlackRock, is projected to invest $2.5 billion in Vietnam’s stock market over the next year following the upcoming upgrade to emerging-market status by FTSE Russell, a senior executive said.

Duncan Burns, head of investment management and global equities for Asia-Pacific at Vanguard, made the comment at a conference marking Vietnam’s inclusion in the FTSE Russell Global Equity Index Series, held by the Ministry of Finance on Friday.

The planned investment is higher than previous estimates by some Vietnamese analysts, who had forecast inflows of around $1-2 billion following the upgrade.

Markets included in major benchmark indexes typically gain greater attention from global investors, helping improve access to international capital, Burns said.

Many investors might never have visited Vietnam, but through Vanguard, they could participate in the sustainable growth of this market, he added.

Vietnam’s stock market is set to be officially upgraded to secondary emerging market under FTSE Russell’s classification on September 21, a move expected to expand the market’s access to foreign capital inflows.

SSI Research estimates that Vanguard funds tracking the FTSE Global Equity Index Series could make net purchases of $240.5 million in 27 Vietnamese stocks included in the emerging-market index.

Vanguard, founded in 1975, manages about $13 trillion in assets for more than 60 million investors globally.

FTSE Russell added 27 Vietnamese stocks to its emerging-market index in its latest portfolio review released in late August.

Among the 27 stocks, three are classified as large-cap companies: Vietcombank (HoSE: VCB, Vingroup (HoSE: VIC), and Vinhomes (HoSE: VHM). Six mid-cap stocks include BIDV (HoSE: BID), Hoa Phat (HoSE: HPG), and VPBank (HoSE: VPB), while the remaining 21 stocks are classified as small-cap companies.

At the conference, Finance Minister Ngo Van Tuan said regulators would continue to strengthen corporate governance and market discipline while developing the legal framework for new market models and products in line with international trends.

The ministry will also continue reforms aimed at building a more transparent, secure, and attractive capital market, thus facilitating market access, particularly for foreign investors, and pushing Vietnam’s capital markets closer to international standards, Tuan added.

The site is envisioned as a specialised industrial area for gas and energy production, industries using energy and downstream gas products, as well as a national energy reserve and dual-use industrial center.

The central Da Nang city People’s Committee has held a meeting to review a proposed zoning plan for a gas-energy industrial park and industries using energy and downstream gas products.

According to a report presented at the meeting, the proposed industrial park would cover approximately 431 hectares in Nui Thanh Commune, in southern Da Nang.

The site is envisioned as a specialised industrial area for gas and energy production, industries using energy and downstream gas products, as well as a national energy reserve and dual-use industrial center.

The proposed zoning plan is aligned with Da Nang’s master plan for the 2021–2030 period, with a vision to 2050.

Under the adjusted master plan, Da Nang aims to expand its network of industrial parks, free trade zones and industrial clusters to increase production space and strengthen its capacity to attract investment.

The city’s industrial development plan for 2021–2030, with a vision to 2050, includes one high-tech park, 40 industrial parks and 115 industrial clusters.

The proposed gas-energy industrial park is expected to play a role in developing energy-related industries and downstream production, while contributing to the formation of a larger industrial base in southern Da Nang.