VietNamNet Bridge - During US President Donald Trump’s visit to Vietnam, businesses of the two countries signed a series of trade agreements worth up to $12 billion.

The signing ceremony took place in the presence of President Tran Dai Quang and President of the US Donald Trump, within the framework of the US President’s official state visit to Vietnam.

The contracts for goods and services signed between the two countries during the official visit of President Donald Trump this time mainly focused on products and services with high technical content.

The national carrier Vietnam Airlines and American aerospace manufacturer Pratt & Whitney signed a $1.5 billion contract of the selection of aircraft engines and support services for 20 Airbus A321NEO aircraft. The two parties also signed a memorandum of understanding on maintenance contracts covering these engines.

The deal between Vietnam Airlines and Pratt & Whitney includes 44 Pure Power Geared Turbofan (GTF) engines in accordance with comprehensive terms of warranty, maintenance and repair of engines.

Vietjet and Pratt &Whitney also announced the selection of the GTF engine to power the budget airline’s order of 10 new aircraft. This deal, which is valued at $600 million at list prices, includes a 12-year EngineWise™ Fleet Management Program for Vietjet’s 10 new-age aircraft.

The PetroVietnam Gas Joint Stock Corporation (PV Gas) struck a MoU on the Son My natural liquefied petroleum gas warehouse with the AES Group Ltd. with a total value of $1.3 billion, and another MoU on co-operation with the Alaska Gasline Development Corporation in natural liquefied petroleum gas provision and upstream investment. Meanwhile, Hoang Huy and Navistar groups inked a MoU on trade of trucks worth $1.8 billion. 

Earlier, during a visit to Vietnam by US President Barack Obama in May 2016, a series of deals worth billions of dollars was also signed. Vietjet Airlines and Boeing inked an agreement to purchase 100 B737 MAX 200 aircraft, valued at $11.3 billion.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh told the media after the APEC Summit Week that as the host of APEC 2017, Vietnam was successful both in terms of content and organization.

During the APEC Summit Week, Vietnam welcomed four high-level visits by Chinese Secretary-General, President Xi Jinping; US President Donald Trump; Chilean President and Prime Minister of Canada. More than 50 meetings between Vietnamese leaders and foreign counterparts were also held during the week.

Economically, through high-level visits by some APEC leaders as well as on-the-sideline activities, 121 deals worth more than $20 billion were inked between Vietnam and other countries.

Vietnam and the US established diplomatic ties on July 12, 1995. Positive strides have been recorded in bilateral relations in all spheres since the countries established a comprehensive partnership in July 2013 on the basis of respecting each other’s territorial integrity, political regime and development path, for the sake of their own interests and for regional peace, stability and development co-operation. Since 2005, the US has become one of the leading trade partners of Vietnam, with two-way trade rising 20 percent in recent years.

Minh Tam