US, Vietnam set to sign 29 deals across key sectors

The United States and Vietnam are set to expand business ties by signing a string of agreements next week as the Vietnam leader To Lam travels to New York.

According to internal documents as reported by Reuters, the deals will span across energy, tech, aviation and finances and most of them are expected to be non-binding.

One internal document showed that 29 agreements could be announced on September 23 in New York at a business conference.

These commercial agreements are a part of Vietnam’s strategy to appease the US as the Trump administration has threatened to impose tariffs on the nation.

Speaking about energy deals, US energy firms Murphy Oil and Chevron are expected to sign deals with state-owned Petrovietnam and ExxonMobil with Vietnam Refinery and Petrochemical Corporation.

Lam during his visit to the US will also discuss things related to trade with Washington. As per official sources, both countries could agree on a trade deal which has been negotiated for more than a year. However, Lam’s meeting with President Trump is not confirmed yet.

Other deals include Vietjet's announcement of leasing up to 22 aircraft from four aviation leasing companies, consisting of 17 Boeing 737 jets and five Airbus A321neo planes.

US chip giant Qualcomm, which is already involved in rolling out Vietnam's 5G network, is set to partner with Vietnamese telecom firm VNPT. An unspecified agreement is outlined between Meta and Vietnam's ministry of culture without disclosing details.