What do Vietnam and the San Fernando Valley have in common? For now, not much, but if David Honda has his way the Valley and Vietnam will soon be partners in trade, with the Economic Alliance playing a key role in the partnership. Honda, a Northridge resident and president of development firm D.S. Honda International, made a trip to Vietnam in December 2006, just after the country entered the World Trade Organization. “I saw that Vietnam is very much of an emerging country that needs everything the U.S. has to offer in regards to technology products (and) education,” recalled Honda, who was appointed to the Canyon Landfill Local Enforcement Agency in June. The epiphany Honda had while visiting Vietnam impelled him to arrange meetings with some of the businesspeople and government officials there, most notably the deputy director of tourism. The two discussed how to bring business to Vietnam. “I went to some of the hotels,” Honda said. “You need to have comfortable hotels for businesspeople.” Accordingly, Honda had conversations with the Vietnamese regarding hotel management, operations, construction and design. He also explored the possibility of providing American healthcare to the Vietnamese. Because of Honda’s environmental connections, he also brokered discussions about having the City of Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation design and operate a water treatment plan for Vietnam. “They’re very bright engineers,” Honda said of those in the bureau. Although the Vietnamese are largely unfamiliar with the San Fernando Valley, they do remember the 1994 Northridge Earthquake that took place here, Honda said. He hopes that through the efforts of the Economic Alliance of the San Fernando Valley, Vietnam will soon grow quite acquainted with the area. At present, the Vietnamese are eager to expand their global connections, according to Honda. “When I was over there, they wanted to have more business interaction with the outside world,” Honda said. Thus far, the Economic Alliance is preparing for a partnership between the Valley and Vietnam by helping to bring Vietnamese delegations to the area, namely those involved in the infrastructure and construction of Hanoi. Economic Alliance President Bruce Ackerman is excited about working with Vietnam. “We’re really trying to open a trading area that’s been tough to crack,” Ackerman said. “Everybody does that with China. We’ve done great work with China, but it’s kind of nice to get involved in another area of the economy that allows us to reach out business-wise.” The alliance will approach doing business in Vietnam similarly to how it approaches doing business elsewhere. It will play the role of “matchmaker” by finding Valley-based companies interested in doing business in Vietnam. The alliance will also attempt to find local products that can be of use in the country. The cost of doing business in both areas will be a major factor. “Some companies are getting killed in the marketplace because they couldn’t compete with the cost of products locally,” Ackerman said. “The process would be trying to find out what the company is trying to produce, either Vietnamese companies or American companies doing final assembly. They might be able to produce the final product cheaper. It’s a fascinating world when you get into global trade.” In the near future, the alliance plans to hold meetings with Vietnamese officials to discuss viable business opportunities, according to Ackerman.