Ceremony to Kick Off Vietnamese Delegation Visit
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – An opening ceremony for the trade mission of the Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce, Ho Chi Minh City Branch, to the city begins at 9 a.m. today at the Williamson College of Business Administration at Youngstown State University.
Nine Vietnamese companies, led by 11 representatives, will be participating. The trade mission will run through Thursday.
Mousa Kassis, director of the Ohio Small Business Development Center’s Export Assistance Network at YSU, said earlier this month that the area’s relationship with Vietnam is growing.
“There’s potential to grow, and we haven’t even scratched the surface,” he told The Business Journal.
The trade mission is a collaboration between VCCI and the Ohio Small Business Development Center Export Assistance Network at YSU. The relationship between the two organizations began in March 2019 when one of EAN’s partners, the Ohio Pennsylvania Stateline Export Initiative, led a 10-company trade mission to Bangkok, Thailand, and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Since then, companies in Ohio and Pennsylvania have benefited through increased two-way trade. A notable success from the 2019 trade mission was that Rickenbacker Airport established connections with its Vietnamese counterparts, which led to trade with Vietnam surpassing trade with China.
Building on this success, the EAN issued a reciprocating invitation to VCCI and its members to visit Ohio. It provides the opportunity for local and regional companies to buy, sell and/or partner through joint ventures with many Vietnamese companies among the delegation, as well as to network with VCCI officials to expand international sales to Vietnam and Southeast Asia.
Trade between the United States and Vietnam has increased from $65 billion in 2018 to $126 billion in 2023. Ohio’s trade with Vietnam reached $4.7 billion in 2023.
The Vietnamese delegation represents various industries looking to export to Ohio, including plastics, food and beverage, health care/beauty, natural rubber and more. Companies looking to import products from Ohio are in the water treatment equipment, food and beverage, plastics, and other industries.
The event is in partnership with YSU, Williamson College of Business Administration, Ohio SBDC Export Assistance Network, Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber, Columbiana County Port Authority, Lake to River Economic Development and Rickenbacker International Airport.
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
