Vietnam is accelerating a comprehensive institutional reform to facilitate foreign operations in the country.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung was speaking during a September 27 dialogue in New York with the US business community, including the leaders from the US Chamber of Commerce (AmCham), US-ASEAN Business Council (USBAC) and Asia Society, as well as executives from leading economic groups.

Dung said Vietnam is carrying out economic restructuring, with a focus on State-owned enterprises, the banking system, and the public investment sector to make them operate more efficiently in line with market regulations and international norms.

Accelerating the market economy reform is considered one of the key breakthroughs Vietnam is going to make to integrate deeper into the global economy, he said.

US businesses inquired into the government's measures to warm up the real estate market

and settle bad debts of the banking system

To this end, the country is conducting negotiations of six free trade agreements (FTAs) with other partners, and all these negotiations are well on track.

Among these FTAs are the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), one with the European Union, and another with the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan.

PM Dung called on foreign investors to get involved in infrastructure construction projects, spanning transport, telecommunications, energy, health care, and education, to support economic and trade activities.

Vietnam is also mobilising domestic and foreign investment in human resource training to generate a high quality labour force, meeting the requirements of the market economy.

He vowed to restructure public investments efficiently by opening the door for foreign businesses to join the market, as soon as the TPP is signed.

Last but not least, he pledged to enhance the State’s governance capability in conformity with the market economy and international practices.

The Vietnamese PM recalled State president Truong Tan Sang’s recent visit to the US during which both sides agreed to upgrade their bilateral relations to a comprehensive partnership status.

He expressed hope the newly established partnership and the upcoming signing of the TPP will fuel trade and economic ties between the two countries, making the US the biggest trade partner and biggest foreign investor in Vietnam.

Dung also reiterated Vietnam’s consistent policy of strengthening mutually beneficial cooperation in various areas, especially economics, trade and investment, with the US.

The PM noted that two-way trade between Vietnam and the US had increased 16fold to US$25 billion in 2012 since the bilateral trade agreement (BTA) was signed in 2001.

The trade figure was US$17 billion in the first seven months of 2013 and it is expected to amount to US$30 billion by the end of the year.

The US is currently the 7th biggest foreign investor in Vietnam.

During the dialogue, PM Dung answered executives’ questions regarding the government’s measures to warm up the real estate market and settle non-performing loans.

The September 27 dialogue is part of PM Dung's trip to New York to attend a High-level Meeting of the UN General Assembly.