The Vietnamese government announced Tuesday that Vietnamese and US firms have signed memorandums of understanding (MoUs) to cooperate in energy, artificial intelligence (AI), and a data center.
The MoUs were signed at a business forum in the United States, according to a government statement. Among the agreements, Vietnam’s state-oil firm PetroVietnam inked a deal with Kellogg Brown & Root for energy technology transfer, while PTSC, a PetroVietnam unit, and Excelerate Energy agreed to cooperate on LNG. In the AI and data center sector, Sovico Group and Supermicro signed an MoU for joint development.
Meanwhile, Vietnamese budget airline Vietjet announced a $1.1-billion cooperation agreement with Honeywell Aerospace Technologies. The US company will provide avionics and aviation technical services for Vietjet’s aircraft fleet.
The business forum was attended by Vietnamese President To Lam, who is scheduled to meet US President Joe Biden on Wednesday on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. President Lam emphasized the vast potential for cooperation between the two countries, expressing Vietnam’s hope that the US would become its largest source of foreign investment.
Lam also expressed his expectation that the US government would soon recognize Vietnam as a market economy. However, the US Commerce Department stated last month that it would continue to classify Vietnam as a non-market economy. If Vietnam reapplies for an upgrade, the process could take several months for US regulators to reach a decision.