Vietnam, USAID ink MoU on digital trade activity

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Phan Thi Thang (L) and USAID's Mission Director for Vietnam Aler Grubbs at the signing ceremony. (Photo: The MoIT)

The Ministry of Industry and Trade of (MoIT) of Vietnam and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on digital trade activity in Vietnam at a ceremony in Hanoi on October 13.

The MoU aims to contribute to strengthening Vietnam's digital trade ecosystem, bringing benefits to both nations’ businesses.

It is also expected to improve capacity in building policy and legal frameworks on digital trade, meeting the development demand of digital commerce in Vietnam, thus facilitating the private sector’s participation in digital trade activities through platforms, digital trade development tools, business associations and business support organisations.

In his speech at the signing ceremony, USAID's Mission Director for Vietnam Aler Grubbs said during his recent visit, US President Joe Biden emphasised the US’s commitment to supporting Vietnam to compete in a global digital economy.

This new digital trade activity led by USAID and the MoIT is the first to be launched under the two countries’ newly upgraded partnership and will go a long way toward unleashing the potential of digital trade to form a key driver of the country’s continued growth, she stressed.

For her part, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Phan Thi Thang affirmed that promoting digital trade activity is a specific measure to implement the Party's policy of "rapid and sustainable development based mainly on science and technology, innovation and digital transformation".

Promoting digital transformation and digitalising trade activity will help expand new growth space, facilitate cross-border trade activities and help Vietnam maintain and improve its export competitiveness in the time to come, Thang said.

The development of digital trade will also contribute to realising Vietnam's sustainable and inclusive development goals because digital transformation will contribute to consuming less resources and make it easier for businesses and people to access all development resources, she added.

Under the MoU, the two sides will strengthen the application of digital trade platforms, including digital trade promotion ecosystems, ensuring network safety and security in accordance with Vietnamese laws.

Notably, this activity is hoped to support the MoIT in introducing strategies and systems for market access, trade promotion, traceability, market connection.

The MoIT said USAID’s Vietnam Digital Trade activity advances the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF), under which Vietnam and the US partner to harness innovation and pursue high-standard rules of the road in the digital economy to drive continued growth.

This activity was built on USAID’s successful partnership with Vietnam over the past two decades to facilitate increased trade and improve the business environment, contributing to building the strategic cooperative partnership between Vietnam and the US./.