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HANOI, VIETNAM — The Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) is prepared to support U.S. exports for Vietnam's transportation, public works and other infrastructure development, Bank Chairman and President James H. Lambright told Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung at a meeting in Hanoi Thursday.

Vietnam is an attractive market for U.S. exporters, and Ex-Im Bank is prepared to facilitate those sales, Lambright said after the meeting. He noted that the $10 billion in trade between the United States and Vietnam has undergone nearly a seven-fold increase since 2001, while Vietnam's gross domestic product growth rate has topped 8 percent in recent years.

Dung said that Vietnam's relationship with Ex-Im Bank is developing successfully and welcomed more U.S. companies to participate in his country's economic growth by exporting more products and services here. In 2003 and 2004, Ex-Im Bank financed exports to Vietnam of four Boeing 777-200ER aircraft.

Lambright's meeting with Dung was one of the highlights of a six-day visit to Vietnam, during which he also met with other government officials, leaders of state-owned enterprises, banks and private sector companies. The meetings focused on discussion of project financing in sectors ranging from oil and gas and power to transportation, including new or expanding airports. All of the officials encouraged U.S. companies to participate in the country's development.

Lambright and Ex-Im Bank Senior Vice President for Export Finance John A. McAdams first went to Ho Chi Minh City, where they met with Southern Airports Authority General Director Nguyen Nguyen Hung and Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Chairman Le Hoang Quan. Quan discussed the city's urban planning scheme calling for construction of a subway system, monorail and belt roads. Lambright said he hoped the city would use more American services, technologies and contractors in implementing these projects.

In Hanoi, Lambright and McAdams met with Vietnam Airlines Corporation Chairman and President Nguyen Sy Hung on Wednesday. On Thursday, after meeting with Prime Minister Dung, they met with Electricity of Vietnam Corporation President and CEO Pham Le Thanh; State Bank of Vietnam Governor Nguyen Van Giau; PetroVietnam Chairman Dinh La Thang; and Industry and Trade Vice Minister Bui Xuan Khu. The Ex-Im Bank delegation was slated to meet Friday with representatives of key state-owned industries, including Vietnam Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (Vinashin, EVN), as well as representatives of private sector companies.

Ex-Im Bank, the official export-credit agency of the United States, is in its 73rd year of assisting in the financing of U.S. exports, primarily to emerging markets throughout the world, by providing loan guarantees, export-credit insurance and direct loans. In fiscal year 2006, Ex-Im Bank authorized more than $12.1 billion, including nearly $3.2 billion for small-business authorizations, to support an estimated $16.1 billion of U.S. exports. For more information, visit www.exim.gov.