Remarks at American Chamber of Commerce Reception and Commercial Signings
Remarks
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
Hilton Opera Hotel
Hanoi, Vietnam
July 10, 2012
Well, I
am delighted to be here with all of you. It’s great being in Hanoi, a
pretty cool place, I think – (laughter) – and to be part of this event,
which furthers our important relationships. And thank you very much for
the award. I am delighted that I had a chance to receive it in front of
such a distinguished audience, and I think it is a great reminder of how
important it is that we have the public and the private sector working
together on behalf of greater prosperity and progress and opportunity
for all of us.
I was delighted to visit with Chamber representatives all over the
world at our Global Business Conference in Washington this year, and I’d
like to thank Hank Tomlinson for your leadership here in Vietnam. I
want to thank Fred Burke for your very kind words and the presentation
of the award. I want to thank Madam Nga for being here with us and, of
course, recognize our excellent Ambassador David Shear, who has a great
team working on behalf of American interests and American businesses.
We are very committed to this relationship between the United States
and Vietnam, just as we are to the reenergizing of America’s
relationship throughout the Asia Pacific. It’s one of the top priorities
of the Obama Administration. The United States is, after all, an
enduring Pacific power with Pacific interests, and we intend to be a
presence in the Pacific region for the foreseeable future.
Now, a lot has been written about the so-called pivot to Asia. But
what hasn’t, perhaps, received enough attention is the breadth of our
engagement. It’s not just about security, although that is important. As
I explained in a speech I delivered in Mongolia yesterday, it’s also
about standing up for democracy and human rights, for the rule of law,
for economic ties, boosting trade, and as the Secretary of State,
advocating for American businesses.
If we look around this room, or you look at the list of companies
represented here, there is no doubt that American business is eager to
invest more in Asia. Companies are taking advantage of an improving
business climate and setting up shop to serve the needs of Asia’s
growing middle class. And part of my job, part of our job in government,
is to help open doors for you. At the State Department, we have mounted
a serious effort to place economics at the center of American foreign
policy. We call it economic statecraft, using diplomacy and tools, like
the Export-Import Bank, to advance and promote American economic
interests and to harness the powers of the market to advance our
strategic goals. And we are particularly focused on developing a global
economic order that is open, free, transparent, and fair. So we’re
working with partners, both new and longstanding, to establish common
rules of the road, so to speak, so everyone has an equal opportunity to
thrive.
Now, Vietnam is an excellent case in point for how we can grow
together rather than at each other’s expense. When my husband
reestablished diplomatic relations in 1995, there was very little
American investment in Vietnam. Today, we are the seventh largest
foreign investor, and our annual bilateral trade has grown to almost $22
billion. And as we just heard, when my husband, my daughter, and I came
to Vietnam in the year 2000, we saw the changes that were happening.
There was a great emphasis on improving and advancing economic relations
between our countries, and agreements were signed.
So we saw progress then, but in my visit three times as Secretary of
State, I’ve already seen in those last three years how our trade
partnership has expanded more than 40 percent. The United States is now
Vietnam’s largest market for exports, and we are very proud of that. And
American companies are poised to help Vietnam take on many of its
current challenges, as we just saw with the two signings involving
General Electric and the provision of materials and products that will
enhance Vietnam’s energy security and independence.
I met with the Prime Minister earlier today, where several members of
the U.S. ASEAN business delegation had an opportunity to sit down with
him and discuss how there can be steps taken for greater American
investment. Now, when we think about investment or we think about deals
like we just saw with GE, we’ve got to remember it’s really about
people. GE will supply the critical energy that Vietnam needs to fuel
its own economic development, which will give greater energy reliability
and efficiency to the people of Vietnam. At the same time, these deals
translate into jobs for workers at GE’s steam turbine plant in
Schenectady, New York and at other sites around the United States. This
is a win-win.
We also have companies based in Vietnam, like Imex Pan Pacific and
IFB Holdings, that are introducing well known American brands to Asian
markets. They’re bringing Gap clothing and Subway sandwiches to cities
and towns across Vietnam. That’s good for American companies; it’s good
for communities to attract new investments; it’s good for new businesses
and the local jobs that go with them. But there is still so much
untapped potential. And I told both the Foreign Minister and the Prime
Minister that we think there is much more that the Government of Vietnam
can do to unleash the full power of the private sector.
Domestic and international businesses alike continue to face rules
that restrict their activities, and that, in turn, deters investment and
slows growth. So we are encouraging the Government of Vietnam to keep
on the path of economic and administrative reform to open its markets to
greater private investment. And through the Trans-Pacific Partnership,
we’re working with Vietnam and seven other nations to lower trade
barriers throughout the region, as we ensure the highest standards for
labor, environmental, and intellectual property protections. Vietnam was
an early entrant to the TPP, and we’re hoping we can finalize the
agreement this year. And the economic analysis is that of all the
countries that will be participating – Australia, Canada, Mexico, others
– of all the countries participating in the TPP, Vietnam stands to
benefit the most. So we’re hoping to really see this agreement finalized
and then watch it take off.
Now, I don’t have to tell you that attracting more foreign business
takes more than lowering trade barriers; it also requires an educated
workforce prepared to compete for 21st century jobs. So the United
States is also partnering with educational institutions and a range of
companies and NGOs to help develop a very strong, skilled workforce to
meet the growing demand here in Vietnam. For example, two years ago,
Intel opened a billion-dollar facility in Ho Chi Minh City that will
eventually employ thousands of workers to test the quality of its
computer chips. Intel is deeply invested in Vietnam, and they recognize
that to continue growing, they need to help improve the engineering
skills of their workforce. So they teamed up with Vietnamese technical
schools, USAID, and Arizona State University to form a new alliance that
trains engineering faculty in practical, project-based instruction
techniques.
And Intel has just introduced a new piece of this effort, a
scholarship program specifically designed to bridge the gender gap by
bringing more women into engineering programs, and I just met the first
scholarship recipient, the first of several hundred women who will
benefit from this program over the next five years, and I am very
excited about what this means for Vietnam and for women in engineering.
This reflects a larger effort launched by APEC last year in San
Francisco to expand women’s economic participation across the Asia
Pacific, especially in science, technology, engineering, and math. So
this scholarship program is exactly what we need. And I’ve been talking
all day, so excuse me. (Laughter.)
So we’ve come a long way in a short period of time, and that is –
excuse me – what economic statecraft is all about. So we want to hear
from all of you about what more we can do together. And at the risk of
coughing any longer, I just want to say thank you, and let’s get to
work. (Laughter and applause.)
