Ambassador backs entrepreneurship of Vietnamese youths in US

On April 7, the diplomat attended the final of the start-up competition VietChallenge 2018, organised by the Association of Vietnamese Students and Professionals in the US. The event also saw the presence of Vietnamese Consul General in Houston Luong Quoc Huy, representatives of the Vietnamese Permanent Mission to the UN, along with sponsors of the competition.

Opening the event, Vinh spoke highly of the development of the Association of Vietnamese Students and Professionals in the US and VietChallenge in recent years, noting that they have not only supported students but also encouraged talents and had many activities turning their hearts towards the homeland.

He expressed his pride and belief in the enthusiasm, talent and creativity of young Vietnamese, calling on overseas youths and start-ups of Vietnam to maintain solidarity and make more contributions to the homeland’s development as well as Vietnam-US relations.

The ambassador said he was happy to see that VietChallenge, first held in 2016, has become an annual competition attracting not only young Vietnamese in the US but also those from Vietnam and other countries. Vinh affirmed that the Vietnamese Embassy and he will continue supporting these meaningful activities.

This year’s competition drew a record of 201 teams from 17 countries and territories. After three rounds of competition, team VIoT became the winner with a project on building smart urban lighting system, pocketing a cash prize of 25,000 USD.

Also on April 7, Ambassador Vinh attended a Vietnam-US investment workshop hosted by law firm Foley Hoag and VietChallenge.

Addressing the workshop, he highlighted great strides in multiple spheres of the two countries’ relations since their ties were normalised in 1995 and lifted to the level of comprehensive partnership in 2013.

The diplomat updated US businesses and Vietnamese start-ups about the development of the bilateral relations recently, especially a visit to the US by Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc in May 2017 and a trip to Vietnam by US President Donald Trump in November 2017.

He also informed the participants about the improvement of the investment climate in Vietnam, expressing his hope that US investors and Vietnamese start-ups will harvest more successes in both Vietnamese and US markets.

The diplomat affirmed that Vietnam’s representative agencies in the US are always ready to assist investors and enterprises of both nations in their economic, investment and business cooperation.

At a working session with the Association of Vietnamese Students and Professionals in the US, Vinh appreciated their efforts and creativity. He and other participants also discussed orientations for activities of the association and young Vietnamese people in the US in the time ahead.-