At the meeting, Mr. Michael W. Michalak said that the cooperation between Vietnam and the United States in recent years had been developing widely, as shown by the increase of trade investment from USD 450 million in 1994 to USD 76 billion in 2019.
Commenting on the trends in the global economy, Mr. Michael W. Michalak said that the digital economy was not only the mainstream but had become an economy, not just a digital economy. The United States and Vietnam have also established relationships, discussed and deal with a number of issues related to the digital economy, cybersecurity, personal data protection, etc.
The Vice Chairman also said that the US-ASEAN Business Council welcomed and supported the 2020 ITU Digital World event held in Vietnam. He also suggested that the US side could approach and share ideas on the new draft Decree on the Law on Cyber Security before the Decree was issued.
At the meeting, Minister Nguyen Manh Hung shared that in April 2020, the Prime Minister of Vietnam would sign the promulgation of a digital transformation scheme drafted by the Ministry of Information and Communications with the goal of forming a Digital Vietnam. The Ministry of Information and Communications and the Ministry of Industry and Trade are assigned by the Government to be the focal points for all activities related to the digital economy. The Ministry of Information and Communications sees digital transformation as a new mission in 2020 and the years to come. In addition, the Ministry of Information and Communications is also assigned a major task: developing a data governance strategy, including personal data protection. This is an area where the US side can help and share experiences with the Ministry of Information and Communications.
Regarding to 5G, Minister Nguyen Manh Hung said that Vietnamese businesses had produced 5G devices, both handsets and switchboards (BTS), using US chipsets.
For the ITU Digital World, Minister Nguyen Manh Hung sent invitation to Mr. Michael W. Michalak, and also US businesses present at the meeting.
Regarding the proposal related to the draft Decree on the Law on Cyber Security, the Minister of Information and Communications said that the Vietnamese side was willing to share the drafts with the United States. The drafts are posted publicly on the websites of the relevant authorities. The Minister also proposed that the US side also share other laws with Vietnam so as the two sides could learn from each other.
The Minister affirmed that Vietnam welcomed US businesses to Vietnam for investment, business and profits. However, the prosperity of American businesses must go along with the prosperity of Vietnam. Therefore, American businesses operating in Vietnam must comply with the laws of Vietnam and fulfill their tax obligations. US businesses in the US-ASEAN Business Council, while doing business in Vietnam, if there are difficulties and problems related to authorized fields of the Ministry of Information and Communications, the Ministry is willing to meet and seek solutions together, Minister Nguyen Manh Hung confirmed.
