Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Ho An Phong received a delegation of the US-ASEAN Business Council (US-ABC) on March 20 in Ha Noi.
The visiting delegation was led by President and CEO Ted Osius, former United States Ambassador to Viet Nam.
In the Vietnamese side were leaders of departments, divisions, and agencies under the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism including Deputy Director of the Sports Authority of Viet Nam Le Thi Hoang Yen.
The meeting was also attended by many large US enterprises such as American Express, Chubb, Citibank, JP Morgan, Mastercard, RGA, S&P Global, and Visa Inc.
Delegates take part in a photo session after working
In the meeting, delegates focused on key topics related to policies and plans to enhance cooperation for the further development of Vietnam internationally. Among the areas were cultural industry, tourism, advertising, cinema, entertainment, and cyberspace games.
Speaking at the working session, Deputy Minister Ho An Phong expressed his appreciation for the good cooperation between Viet Nam and the United States in general and the annual working sessions with US-ABC in particular.
The Deputy Minister said: “This is a good opportunity for both sides to listen and share achievements as well as shortcomings in our cooperative relationship. Based on the characteristics and specificities of the culture, sports and tourism sector, two sides would give priority to suitable activities in the upcoming period.”
Ted Osius thanked the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism leaders for taking the time to welcome the delegation and congratulated the Ministry on completing the restructuring of its organization.
He also shared about the delegation's trip when they visited many famous tourist destinations in Viet Nam such as Hue, Quang Binh, and Ha Noi last week.
The delegation especially wanted to develop the film and tourism industries as Viet Nam was home of many beautiful landscapes, historical and traditional imprints.
In this trip to Viet Nam, the US-ABC side brought many of the largest businesses of the United States because they realized that there were many great opportunities for investment and development in the Southeast Asian country.
Hopefully, through promotional and investment activities, Viet Nam's diverse cultural identity would be strongly promoted and the country's position in the fields of culture, tourism and sports, would be strengthened internationally.
At the working session about sports, a representative of Meta enterprise reviewed cooperation in Viet Nam in the past and thanked the support of the Sports Authority of Viet Nam in the 31st SEA Games in 2022.
At that event, Meta released a guide for a safe and complete experience on social networks for athletes.
It was a short guide that shared basic steps to ensure safety, security and privacy for athletes on Facebook and Instagram. Meta also offered an online training program specifically for athletes, providing more in-depth knowledge about safety, security and useful tools on Facebook and Instagram.
This activity helped athletes get closer to the public and contributed to promoting the beautiful image of the 311st SEA Games, spreading the message "Sports unite the community and promote good living values" and many other side-lined activities.
In the host side, Deputy Minister Ho An Phong believed that the policy dialogue would help two parties understand each other better and increase opportunities and benefits for US businesses in Viet Nam, especially in the Ministry’s priority areas and areas which were strong points of the US business community.
In his summary, the Deputy Minister highly appreciated the US delegation’s recommendations and proposals for the areas under the management of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
He highly welcomed and hoped that in the future, the two sides would have close and in-depth cooperation; increased support and information exchange with each other to implement related policies and activities.
He emphasized that if there was any problem with the law in the future, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism would consult with the Government to have suitable solution.
The Deputy Minister affirmed his readiness to work with US companies and businesses which wanted to operate in Viet Nam; and support relevant agencies to help other businesses easily invest in Viet Nam.
He added that Viet Nam loved new, advanced and superior products. Recently, many US brands have made Viet Nam become more competitive in the world.
“We see the scale and potential if large US enterprises take part in the cooperation. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will provide full support in market consulting, introducing locations and localities so that enterprises can promote the image of Viet Nam widely to the world.
Deputy Minister Ho An Phong mentioned the Ho Tram Golf entertainment complex system as a typical example. The participation of US businesses has converted this place into a notable destination for golf tournaments - a sport loved by many people and at the same time promoted the natural beauty and landscape of Viet Nam globally.
Thanh Ha