A delegation from Ho Chi Minh City, led by Politburo member andSecretary of the municipal Party Committee Le Thanh Hai, has concluded avisit to the US to bolster cooperation between the city and USlocalities.

During the visit spanning from July12-17, the delegation had a working session with San Francisco MayorEdwin Lee, during which the two sides reviewed the relationship betweentheir localities over the past two decades.

Acooperation plan for 2015-2020 was also signed to beef up bilateralcollaboration in investment, trade, high technology, culture andeducation.

In the capital city of Sacramento ofCalifornia, Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee TatThanh Cang and the city’s Vice Mayor Allen Warren discussed a number ofissues of shared concern.

The two cities alsosigned a memorandum of understanding on the continued discussion ofmeasures to build upon the friendship and partnership in the future.

The delegation paid a courtesy call to California Governor EdmundBrown who expressed his hope that California and Ho Chi Minh City wouldcontinue strengthening their multi-faced cooperation, especially inclimate change response.

For his part, Hai said heis delighted at the growing ties between the two countries, highlightingthe cooperation potential between California and Vietnam as well as HoChi Minh City in particular.

Ho Chi Minh City iskeen to promote collaboration with California in its fields of strength,thus contributing to deepening the comprehensive partnership betweenVietnam and the US, said Hai.

The Ho Chi Minh Citydelegation dedicated a large portion of the visit to strengtheningcooperation with US partners in education and high technology by callingfor investment from top enterprises in Silicon Valley, including Apple,Google, Jabil and Intel and signing a number of agreements andmemorandums of understanding with the partners.

Secretary of the municipal Party Committee Le Thanh Hai affirmed thecity’s strong commitment to back and create favourable conditions for USinvestors in the city.

As part of efforts to fostereducation cooperation with the US, Hai and the delegation also visiteduniversities in the US, including the University of California atBerkeley, the University of California at Davis and Harvard University.

A memorandum of understanding was signed betweenthe Ho Chi Minh City National University and the University ofCalifornia at Berkeley. The two universities also vowed to continueworking closely in strengthening the research capacity of Ho Chi MinhCity National University, Ho Chi Minh City and Vietnam in general.

At the University of California, Hai highlighted areas in need ofinvestment while stressing the city’s interest in coordinating with theuniversity in exchanging lecturers and students.

Working with professors in the Harvard Kennedy School of HarvardUniversity, Hai was reported on Ho Chi Minh City’s competitiveness. Heinvited the professors to visit the city for further studies anddiscussions on the field. The delegation also visited the MassachusettsInstitute of Technology.

During his stay, Hai andthe delegation had a meeting with representatives of the Vietnamesecommunity in San Francisco, where he affirmed the Party and State’sconstant policy of viewing overseas Vietnamese as an inseparable part ofthe nation.

Meeting Vietnamese businesses in thelocality, Hai affirmed that Ho Chi Minh City will do its utmost toremove obstacles for them, especially in administrative procedures, andhelp facilitate their business.-VNA