U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Deputy Administrator Bonnie Glick traveled to Vietnam from October 30 to November 2, 2019.

While in Hanoi, the Deputy Administrator met with Ministry of Health officials, including Vice Minister Truong Quoc Cuong, to discuss the country's national HIV response. The Deputy Administrator commended the Government of Vietnam on its notable progress transitioning the national HIV response to domestic financing-an effort that USAID is supporting under the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. In 2019, Vietnam achieved a key benchmark in this transition-assuming responsibility for funding, procuring and delivering anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs to one-third of all HIV patients in the country. The Vietnamese Government is on track to be able to finance 75 percent of all ARVs provided through the national health insurance system by next year.

The Deputy Administrator also met with officials from Vietnam's Office of the Government, USAID's government counterpart, to reinforce USAID's commitment to supporting Vietnam's efforts to improve its business and investment climate. With USAID support, Vietnam has made tremendous progress. The recently released World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Index 2019 revealed that Vietnam jumped 10 places since last year, making it the most improved country of 2019.

The Deputy Administrator joined Ministry of National Defense officials at their headquarters to mark the formal transfer of the first portion of land at Bien Hoa Airbase to USAID to remediate dioxin contamination-a byproduct of Agent Orange used by the U.S. military during the Vietnam War. USAID is partnering with a small business from Louisiana on the project at Bien Hoa, the largest remaining hotspot of dioxin in the country. This effort builds on USAID's successful remediation of Danang Airport, completed late last year, which has advanced the U.S.-Vietnam strategic partnership and promoted goodwill between our two peoples.

The Deputy Administrator visited Noi Bai Airport Cargo Terminal to observe General Department of Vietnam Customs control operations and inspections of suspected origin-related fraud. She announced that USAID will prioritize support for these efforts through a new five-year trade facilitation program launched in July that is focused on building the capacity of Vietnam's customs department to comply with global trade norms and reduce the time and cost of trade. The Deputy Administrator highlighted how USAID's new program will support the Government of Vietnam's efforts to raise awareness of both Vietnamese and U.S. efforts to prevent transshipment of illegal goods, identify regulatory changes needed to increase trade, provide training courses, and develop a stronger regulatory framework to facilitate legitimate commerce. Deputy Administrator Glick also commended the Government of Vietnam on its commitment to addressing the illegal transshipment of Chinese goods through Vietnam to avoid U.S.-imposed tariffs.

In Ho Chi Minh City, the Deputy Administrator joined Ministry of Industry and Trade officials and private sector partners, including Nike, AES Corporation, the American Chamber of Commerce, and UPC Renewables, to launch a new partnership focused on incentivizing private sector engagement to help meet Ho Chi Minh City's surging energy demand. The new partnership aims to create new market opportunities for solar rooftops, demand response, electric vehicles, energy storage, and other innovative, local solutions. In support of this, the Deputy Administrator announced USAID's new $14 million Urban Energy Security activity, which will help advance distributed energy solutions in cities including Ho Chi Minh City through policy incentives and grants to spark private investment in new technologies and markets. These new efforts build on successful USAID-Vietnam collaboration expanding energy access and strengthening energy security. For example, USAID has helped create an enabling environment for solar investment in Vietnam that has contributed to a massive increase in solar energy production over the past two years-from less than 2 percent of the country's total power generation to over 10 percent.

Also in Ho Chi Minh City, the Deputy Administrator visited with students, faculty, and staff at Fulbright University Vietnam, the country's first fully independent, non-profit university. In September, Vietnam reached a turning point in its reform of higher education with the official launch of the undergraduate program at Fulbright University Vietnam. The United States has been supporting Fulbright University Vietnam in its early stages of development with the goal of it becoming Vietnam's leading higher education institution. Modern, high-quality universities are critical to helping Vietnam improve economic growth and achieve sustainable development outcomes.

The Deputy Administrator continues her travel to Thailand, Bangladesh, and Indonesia through November 11, 2019.