THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | APRIL-MAY 2025 25 language training, and Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) equip young Vietnamese with essential skills to be competitive partners for the United States in the future. There are now almost 8,000 Vietnamese alumni of U.S. governmentfunded exchange programs. Vietnamese students and the Government of Vietnam want that number to continue to grow. We are also developing new areas of economic collaboration as Vietnam seeks to move up the value chain, and the world looks to strengthen and diversify critical supply chains. We are working together to address requirements that are vital to attracting more high-tech investment, such as strong strategic trade controls, a robust cybersecurity regime, secure critical infrastructure, and a modern and efficient regulatory environment. These are not idle conversations. Our joint research efforts and science and technology collaboration are increasingly sophisticated and dynamic, an indication of where Vietnam wants to be and who it wants to partner with to support economic growth. While U.S. companies have been steady investors in Vietnam for decades, we are now seeing a growing number of Vietnamese investments in the United States. Vietnam proudly led the largest delegation of Asian companies to SelectUSA in 2024 and hopes to do so again in 2025. Another area that reflects the growth of cooperation is our work together on health. U.S. support has saved countless lives affected by HIV and laid the groundwork for the robust health Ambassador Marc Knapper delivers remarks at the second Vietnam International Defense Expo at Gia Lam Airport in Hanoi, December 2024. U.S. EMBASSY HANOI Ambassador Marc Knapper and Vietnam Vice Foreign Minister Hà Kim Ngọc unveil the 30th anniversary logo at the celebration of the U.S.-Vietnam Comprehensive Strategic Partnership’s first anniversary, September 2024. students to the United States, with some 30,000 students studying in the United States, contributing nearly $1 billion to the U.S. economy. We bring the expertise of the U.S. private sector and U.S. universities into our collaboration with Vietnam to modernize its higher education. Programs like Fulbright, Peace Corps, English U.S. EMBASSY HANOI
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy ODIyMDU=