HANOI – SpaceX plans to invest $15 billion in Vietnam in the near future related to its Starlink satellite service, the Southeast Asian country’s government said.

The statement followed a meeting in New York between Vietnamese President To Lam and Tim Hughes, SpaceX’s senior vice president of global business and government affairs.

“The Vietnamese government is considering SpaceX’s (investment) proposal,” Lam, who was visiting the United States to attend the United Nations General Assembly, said in the statement.

Lam urged U.S.-based SpaceX to work closely with relevant parties in Vietnam to efficiently complete preparations for the investment, according to the statement on the website of the country’s National Assembly.

No further details were provided. SpaceX did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment outside normal U.S. business hours. Government officials in Vietnam were not immediately available for comment.

The Vietnamese government said last year that SpaceX was interested in providing the country with its low-Earth orbit satellite service. Earlier this year Reuters reported that these plans were put on hold.

According to the Vietnamese statement, Lam told Elon Musk’s Starlink, a subsidiary of SpaceX that uses thousands of satellites for internet access, that the country would coordinate investment procedures with domestic partners.

Vietnam’s President and head of the ruling Communist Party, To Lam (left), meets with US President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York City, USA, on Wednesday. (Photo: Reuters)

Lam, who met with US President Joe Biden, also held meetings with major companies including Boeing Co and Meta Platforms Inc.

According to the government statement, Karan Bhatia, Google’s vice president of government affairs and public policy, told Lam that the Silicon Valley company intends to work with Vietnam to develop artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, cloud computing and enhanced cybersecurity for collaboration.