Ambassador Nguyen Quoc Dung pays working visit to Minnesota, USA
WVR - From June 28-30, Vietnamese Ambassador to the United States Nguyen Quoc Dung paid a working visit to the state of Minnesota.
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| Ambassador Nguyen Quoc Dung meets with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. (Source: Vietnamese Embassy in the USA) |
The visit aimed to strengthen relations with local authorities, businesses, educational institutions, and the Vietnamese community in the state, thereby promoting cooperation between Vietnam and Minnesota in the fields of economy, trade, investment, science and technology, education, and people-to-people exchanges.
During the visit, the Ambassador met with Governor Tim Walz, Acting Speaker of the State House John Huot, State Senator Susan Pha, State Secretary of State Steve Simon, and State Commissioner of Employment and Economic Development Matt Varilek.
Governor Tim Walz, along with state legislators and department leaders, affirmed the importance of relations with Vietnam, recognizing Vietnam as a key partner in the region and expressing a desire to continue enhancing cooperation with Vietnam in agriculture, medical technology, education, infrastructure development, and business connectivity.
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| Ambassador Nguyen Quoc Dung and the delegation meet with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. (Source: Vietnamese Embassy in the USA) |
In the meetings, Ambassador Nguyen Quoc Dung highly appreciated the positive developments in the Vietnam-USA Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, emphasizing the potential for cooperation in areas where Minnesota has strengths and which are also current development priorities for Vietnam, such as trade, agriculture, high technology, advanced manufacturing, healthcare, education, and human resource training. He also suggested that the state continue to support the Vietnamese community in Minnesota, encourage businesses to expand investment and business in Vietnam, and promote the establishment of sister-city relationships between Minnesota localities and Vietnam.
Regarding economic cooperation, Ambassador Nguyen Quoc Dung chaired a seminar with three leading economic promotion organizations in Minnesota, including the Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul Regional Economic Development Partnership, the Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce, and the Saint Paul Area Chamber of Commerce, with the participation of business associations and enterprises in agriculture, manufacturing, healthcare, technology, and services, such as Minnesota Soybean Association, Ecolab company, etc..
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| Ambassador Nguyen Quoc Dung chairs a seminar with three leading economic promotion organizations in Minnesota, including the Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul Regional Economic Development Partnership, the Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce, and the Saint Paul Area Chamber of Commerce. (Source: Vietnamese Embassy in the USA) |
Speaking at the seminar, the Ambassador emphasized that Vietnam and Minnesota have many complementary strengths, encouraging businesses from both sides to enhance cooperation in trade, investment, innovation, and supply chain development. The Vietnamese Trade Office in the USA and representatives from Becamex Vietnam Group introduced the investment and business environment and cooperation opportunities in Vietnam.
Minnesota associations and businesses noted that Vietnam is becoming an important link in the global technology supply chain and expressed interest in expanding cooperation with Vietnam in high-tech agriculture, medical technology, semiconductors, artificial intelligence (AI), water management, and industrial park development. They also suggested that Vietnam should continue to focus on completing a circular ecosystem, particularly ensuring energy, clean water, and high-quality human resources.
During his time in Minnesota, the Ambassador also visited the Innovation Center of 3M and the headquarters of Medtronic, two major state enterprises investing and doing business in Vietnam. Both companies highly appreciated Vietnam's investment environment, confirmed their commitment to long-term investment, and expressed a desire to continue expanding cooperation in technology, innovation, and medical equipment.
In the field of education, the Ambassador visited and worked with the University of Minnesota, one of the leading research universities in the USA. Both sides discussed the potential for enhancing cooperation between Minnesota's educational institutions and Vietnam.
In discussions with representatives of the Vietnamese Language and Heritage Program at the Language Center of the College of Liberal Arts, University of Minnesota, the Ambassador appreciated efforts to preserve and promote the Vietnamese language within the community. On this occasion, the Ambassador presented Vietnamese language textbooks and publications on Vietnam's history and culture to the university's Language Center.
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| Ambassador Nguyen Quoc Dung and the delegation visit Professor Yang Dao's family (third from left) and meet with representatives of the H'Mong community in Minnesota. (Source: Vietnamese Embassy in the USA) |
Regarding community work, the Ambassador met with Professor Yang Dao and representatives of the H'Mong community in Minnesota, providing information on the country's socio-economic development, the Party and State's policies towards overseas Vietnamese, and listening to the community's thoughts and aspirations.
Community representatives expressed joy at the country's development achievements and a desire to continue contributing to Vietnam-USA relations as well as the development of their homeland.
On the sidelines of the visit, Embassy representatives also visited a number of businesses and the Vietnamese community in Saint Paul.
| Minnesota is one of the key economic centers of the Midwest USA, notable for its manufacturing industry, medical technology, agriculture, life sciences, and innovation. The economic relationship between Minnesota and Vietnam is increasingly developing, with bilateral trade reaching nearly 800 million USD in 2025. Minnesota is also home to many leading US corporations, including businesses that have been investing and cooperating effectively with Vietnam for many years, such as 3M, Medtronic, Cargill, Ecolab... The Vietnamese community in Minnesota numbers over 33,000 people, mainly concentrated in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area, making significant contributions to the state's economic and social life. |
For more images of Ambassador Nguyen Quoc Dung's activities in Minnesota, please visit: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/16HPhdyJsG0QE6dKR391wxwf376j2KQ9f.
(Source: Embassy of Vietnam in the USA)
