On the afternoon of September 10, after the official welcoming ceremony, Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong held talks with US President Joe Biden and the high-ranking US delegation.

Mr. Trong said he highly appreciated the agreements made in the Joint Declaration on elevating Vietnam-US relations to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for Peace, Cooperation and Sustainable Development. He welcomed the strong promotion of economic - trade - investment cooperation and inclusive economic growth in the direction of innovation, which continues to be the central foundation and driving force for the two countries' relations and cooperation and the mutual agreement on creating a breakthrough in sci-tech cooperation.

President Joe Biden expressed his respect for Vietnam and praised Vietnam's achievements in development, contributions to international work and the contributions and leadership role of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong. He expressed his support for Vietnam's development, including economic and scientific-technological cooperation in the new period, including the development of the electronics industry, clean energy, and climate change response. The US President stressed that the upgrade to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership would benefit both countries and common international interests.

Main content of Vietnam-US technology cooperation

Digital cooperation is among the priority content in the comprehensive strategic relationship between the two countries, which is mentioned in the Action Plan to implement the newly-issued Joint Declaration.

The two leaders committed to supporting the rapid development of Vietnam's semiconductor ecosystem and working together to enhance Vietnam's position in the global semiconductor supply chain.

The two sides welcomed the promotion of safe and reliable digital infrastructure in Vietnam, affirming it as a new opportunity to improve digital capacity to develop Vietnam's digital economy. These efforts include supporting (i) the establishment of an ORAN training lab in Vietnam, (ii) 5G security, and (iii) adoption of newly-emerging technologies to provide opportunities to enhance digital skills for Vietnamese innovators.

Regarding semiconductor cooperation, Vietnam and the US will seek to strengthen Vietnam's important role in the regional and global semiconductor chain by exploiting existing strengths in assembly, testing and packaging as well as such as developing upstream capacity. The two countries plan to coordinate with the private sector, recognizing Vietnam's important role in strengthening the semiconductor industry and the global supply chain.

The two sides signed a Memorandum of Understanding on workforce development, supply chain resilience, ecosystem development related to the semiconductor industry and joint implementation of actions such as: Implementing the US-Vietnam Semiconductor Workforce Initiative in 2024, focusing on assembly, testing and packaging; leveraging the International Technology Security and Innovation (ITSI) Facility under the CHIPS Act to support the long-term development of Vietnam's semiconductor ecosystem; establishing of the Leading Electronics & Technology Development Partner Network (DELTA), focusing on talent training and encouraging component manufacturing competition; giving consultation support in the process of drafting and implementing Vietnam's National Semiconductor Strategy.

Vietnam - US cooperation promotes 5G, 6G and AI

The second content of Vietnam-US cooperation is to support open interoperable secure networks; and establish the ORAN Academy and interoperability lab alongside large-scale technology deployment in Vietnam to promote the use of open 5G deployment and enhance innovation economy and provide opportunities to improve digital skills for Vietnamese workers.

The ORAN Academy and the Lab will collaborate with American and Vietnamese businesses and a Vietnamese university to provide hands-on training for 5G professionals, while creating opportunities for suppliers and carriers deploying ORAN to teaching and training local engineers on how to design, build and operate these open systems.

The US also committed to provide technical support to Vietnam's telecommunications companies and relevant agencies to expand reliable and secure undersea cable connectivity.

Another area that Vietnam and the US want to promote cooperation is artificial intelligence (AI). The two sides will research the possibility of cooperation on AI with the participation of leading businesses in AI technology; share awareness of the importance of AI ethics to protect the rights and safety of individuals, and discuss AI ethics and regulations; and jointly promote cooperation on newly-emerging digital technologies.

The two sides will also move towards signing a Memorandum of Understanding between the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Vietnam Information Security Administration (AIS) on building information security capacity and sharing information about cyber threats.

Du Lam