Government chief Nguyễn Tấn Dũng on September 5 in Cần Thơ City warmly welcomed a delegation from the US-ASEAN Business Council who is attending a Mekong Delta investment and development conference.

The PM was pleasant to witness the economic, trade and investment relations between Việt Nam and the US growing, with the two-way trade turnover exceeding US $15.5 billion in 2009 and reaching a higher level in the coming time. The US ranks 6 th out of foreign investors which are setting foothold in Việt Nam.

PM Dũng affirmed that foreign investors in general and American groups and corporations in particular would be given favorable conditions to make profits in Việt Nam and the Mekong Delta.

The Delta is a region with dynamically economic development, playing as a leading production and processing center for rice, aquatic products and fruits, and also a national hub of electricity and gas, said PM Dũng.

On behalf of the US-ASEAN Business Council, Mr. Kevin Thieneman, Southeast Asia and India country manager for industrial-equipment giant Caterpillar, said that US enterprises are boosting investment in Việt Nam in such domains as infrastructure development, IT, power, gas, manufacturing of airplane engine, healthcare, biotechnology and banking.

The guest took the occasion to seek further support from the Vietnamese Government for US enterprises to do long-term business in Việt Nam.

It is reported that the Mekong Delta investment and development conference takes place on September 5-6 and expects to lure around 500-700 representatives from Việt Nam and other countries.

Thirteen Mekong Delta localities will introduce their 100 projects to investors./.

By Kim Anh