US business group seeks security equipment deal with Vietnam's police
By Francesco Guarascio
HANOI (Reuters) — A dozen U.S. firms will hold meetings with Vietnam's public security and defence ministries next week, when a U.S. business group aims to sign a deal to facilitate the supply of gear to the country's police, the organiser told Reuters.
The meetings, slated for March 18, are part of the dialogue that led to an upgrade of ties in September during a visit to Hanoi by President Joe Biden, as Washington seeks to gain influence in the strategic Southeast Asian nation, which also has ties to China.
The non-binding agreement could be signed on the sidelines of the meetings and would make future deals easier, said Vu Tu Thanh, a representative of the US-ASEAN Business Council (US ABC), the advocacy group that organises the event. He noted that the group has in past years signed similar pacts with other Vietnamese ministries.
US ABC has discussed for months the memorandum of understanding with Vietnam's Public Security Ministry, Thanh said, noting that the deal would be between the ministry and US ABC, with no direct involvement of the companies.
Thanh said aerospace and defence giant Boeing (NYSE:BA) would join the meetings, but did not disclose the full list of participants and declined to say whether U.S. companies involved in past defence talks would attend.
«Boeing will highlight the company's growing partnership with Vietnam and opportunities to strengthen the country's aerospace capabilities,» Boeing told Reuters in an emailed statement.
ATMO, a U.S.-based provider of AI-powdered meteorological services to governments and militaries, will also join the meetings, Thanh and the company said.
US ABC, whose members include several large U.S. corporations, has sent a draft of the
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