Bilateral meetings and working sessions between President Luong Cuong and the U.S. partners in Seattle helped maintain stability and advance comprehensive cooperation between the two countries.

On the morning of September 21 (local time; night of September 21 in Hanoi), on the sidelines of the High-Level General Debate of the 80th U.N. General Assembly in New York and bilateral activities in the United States, President Luong Cuong and the First Lady, together with a high-level Vietnamese delegation, arrived in Seattle, Washington, for a program of bilateral engagements.

Accompanying the President were Central Committee member, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien, and leaders of Vietnamese ministries and agencies.

In Seattle, the President met Washington Lieutenant Governor Denny Heck; received a delegation of Oregon state legislators led by State Representative Nguyen Ba Loc, Chair of the Oregon House Committee on Economic Development; met Stephanie Pope, President & CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes; met Ron Vachris, President & CEO of Costco; and witnessed a Boeing-Vietjet aircraft handover at Boeing’s Seattle facility.

Below is a recap of President Luong Cuong’s activities in Seattle, Washington.

1. Meeting with Washington Lieutenant Governor Denny Heck

President Luong Cuong emphasized that Vietnam regards the United States as one of its most important partners and considers Washington State a priority local-level partner and one of America’s leading economic and trade hubs.

He applauded the practical results of cooperation to date particularly in trade, education, aviation, and energy and noted the significant potential to broaden ties. He proposed maintaining momentum through increased exchanges and contacts at all levels; facilitating trade and investment; and promoting cooperation in science-technology, AI, logistics, clean energy, deep-water ports, and links between Washington State and Ho Chi Minh City.

Lieutenant Governor Heck affirmed that Washington views Vietnam as a priority partner in the region and stands ready to deepen government-to-business connections, boost two-way trade and investment, and strengthen cooperation on supply chains and green logistics.

2. Meeting with an Oregon Legislative Delegation led by Rep. Nguyen Ba Loc

Calling Oregon the “Silicon Forest” one of the United States’ leading centers for high technology, semiconductors, and renewable energy, the President stressed Oregon’s importance to Vietnam in pursuing high, sustainable growth.

Vietnam welcomes and will facilitate Oregon companies and educational institutions in expanding cooperation, investment, and R&D in Vietnam. The President asked Representative Nguyen Ba Loc and colleagues to continue supporting Vietnam-U.S. relations; expand cooperation in economy-trade, science-technology, and innovation; assist Vietnam’s green growth, semiconductor development, and high-quality human-capital training; and back the U.S. recognition of Vietnam’s market-economy status and removal of Vietnam from lists restricting high-tech exports.

3. Meeting with Stephanie Pope, President & CEO, Boeing Commercial Airplanes

Ms. Pope discussed Boeing’s strategy and cooperation commitments with Vietnam, affirming continued work with Vietnamese airlines to operationalize agreements and deepen partnerships.

She noted Vietnam Airlines currently operates 17 Boeing aircraft and Vietjet has placed orders for more than 200 aircraft the first of which are being delivered underscoring Southeast Asia’s importance to Boeing.

President Luong Cuong welcomed Boeing’s business success and support for Vietnam, and expressed pleasure at the completion of procedures to deliver new aircraft to Vietnamese partners. He asked Boeing to coordinate closely to complete and hand over existing orders on schedule with viable operating and financing plans; to study investing in component manufacturing; and to establish a regional-scale MRO center linked to major airports to serve Vietnam and Southeast Asia. He also urged Boeing to help Vietnamese firms gradually join Boeing’s global supply chain.

4. Witnessing the Boeing-Vietjet Aircraft Handover in Seattle

Immediately after the meeting, the President, senior leaders of both countries, and business partners witnessed Vietjet take delivery of its first Boeing 737-8 under a 200-aircraft, USD 32 billion order.

The handover ceremony took place at Boeing’s Delivery Center in Seattle. Coinciding with the 30th anniversary of Vietnam-U.S. normalization, the event marked a major milestone in Vietjet-Boeing cooperation and vividly reflected the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two nations boosting trade and investment and supporting hundreds of thousands of U.S. jobs. Ms. Stephanie Pope highlighted that the 737-8s will help Vietjet expand its network and open new routes across Southeast Asia.

5. Meeting with Ron Vachris, President & CEO, Costco

Mr. Vachris reaffirmed Costco’s desire to work closely with key Vietnamese suppliers to bring market-fit products to consumers, sustaining long-term partnerships. He estimated Costco’s procurement of Vietnamese goods could exceed USD 1 billion annually, focusing on textiles, footwear, furniture, seafood, cashew nuts, and coffee.

To further diversify and strengthen supply chains, Costco seeks a strategic cooperation framework to build production and sourcing capacity and is ready to share experience and lead on implementing ESG standards.

President Luong Cuong welcomed Costco’s business results and rising demand for Vietnamese exports in its system. He said Costco’s strategic-framework initiative aligns with Vietnam’s priority to integrate more deeply into global value chains especially in strong product categories like agro-seafood, textiles-footwear, and light industry. He applauded Costco’s ESG leadership, consistent with Vietnam’s sustainability orientation, and said Vietnam stands ready to cooperate on green technology transfer, helping local firms improve processes, reduce emissions, adopt renewables, and enhance competitiveness. With nearly 100 million people and expanding consumption, Vietnam is a promising destination, he added, welcoming Costco’s proposal to establish a formal presence and long-term investment in Vietnam.

At the end of the Seattle program, on the evening of September 21 (local time; morning of September 22 in Vietnam), the aircraft carrying President Luong Cuong, the First Lady, and the high-level Vietnamese delegation landed at New York’s JFK International Airport for the High-Level General Debate of the 80th U.N. General Assembly and further bilateral engagements in the U.S.

They were greeted by Vietnamese Ambassador to the U.S. Nguyen Quoc Dung; Ambassador, Permanent Representative to the UN Do Hung Viet; and staff of the Embassy and Permanent Mission.

This is President Luong Cuong’s first multilateral diplomatic trip to the world’s premier global forum as the U.N. marks its 80th anniversary. The trip also coincides with the second anniversary of the Vietnam-U.S. Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and the 30th anniversary of normalization.

Over nearly five decades, Vietnam-U.N. relations have expanded in depth, with the U.N. accompanying Vietnam from post-war reconstruction, through the lifting of embargoes, to progressive international integration.

Industry and Trade Newspaper will continue to update information.

Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien heading the MoIT delegation is accompanying President Luong Cuong at the U.N. High-Level General Debate and bilateral events in the U.S. from September 21-24, together with leaders from MoIT departments and units (Foreign Market Development Agency, Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency, Multilateral Trade Policy Department, Electricity Regulatory Authority, Vietnam Industry and Trade Review, the MoIT Office, etc.).