Untold story about former Prime Minister Phan Van Khai's visit to the US

During former Prime Minister Phan Van Khai's visit to the US in 2005, Mr. Duong Trung Quoc, then a member of the first National Assembly, had the opportunity to accompany the Prime Minister.

Prime Minister Phan Van Khai's trip is an important milestone.

Thirteen years ago, in 2005, former Prime Minister Phan Van Khai visited the United States. This was considered the first official visit by the head of the government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam after 30 years of the end of the war. How do you assess the significance of this visit in the historical context at that time?

This is the first visit to the United States by the head of the Vietnamese government, right on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the normalization of relations between the two countries, marking an important milestone in Vietnam-US relations.

Obviously, it was very difficult to have a meeting 13 years ago, when the two countries had to go through a long period of war, embargo, hostility, suspicion... before they could become friends and sit down together, gradually establishing cooperative and friendly relations in many fields.

I believe that Prime Minister Phan Van Khai’s trip conveyed many messages and was a breakthrough, opening a new door to help the Vietnam-US relationship move to a new stage, a new height. This trip was also the beginning of many future visits.

Former Prime Minister Phan Van Khai (left) shakes hands with US President George W. Bush (right)

As you just said, 13 years ago the legacy of the past was still very heavy and both sides had to find a way to reconcile. As someone who directly participated in the high-level delegation of Vietnam to the US in 2005, how do you assess the reaction of American public opinion to this special visit?

During Prime Minister Phan Van Khai's visit to the US in 2005, in addition to the diplomatic advisors, there was also a delegation of National Assembly deputies, and I was fortunate to be a member of the delegation. The delegation took off at 6:45 am on June 19 at Noi Bai and landed at Seattle-Tacoma airport at 9 am, still on June 19 local time.

At that time, although we had normalized Vietnam-US relations for 10 years, the legacy of the past was still a huge obstacle. In fact, there were still extremist groups who tended not to support the relationship between the two countries.

However, when we arrived in the US, we were very moved to witness the respectful reception and affection of the Americans for Vietnam. What I remember most was that at the dinner party on June 19, an American soldier named Macshin, who was over 80 years old at the time, with a small stature, asked to meet Prime Minister Phan Van Khai. In 1945, Mr. Macshin was the one sent by the strategic intelligence unit (OSS - Office Strategic Services) to accompany Uncle Ho back to the country. After many years, Macshin still has a special affection for the Vietnamese people. During the conversation with the Prime Minister, the former American soldier kept mentioning the word "Uncle Ho" and said that he had been waiting for this day for a long time.

Senator McCain, who fought in Vietnam, also made an impressive statement: “After 30 years since the war, it is time for us to look to the potential of the future, not just look back at the pain of the past.” This shows that there are many Americans who always accompany and support the good development of the relationship between the two countries.

A Prime Minister who is brave in politics but simple in real life

Former Prime Minister Phan Van Khai is known as the first Vietnamese leader to officially visit the United States since the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. During this trip, can you share your memories and memorable impressions of the Vietnamese head of state?

I did not have many opportunities to meet and talk with Prime Minister Phan Van Khai, but in my impression, he is a simple, quiet, profound person who also cares a lot about people. During his trip to the US in 2005, according to the schedule, on the morning of June 21, the Prime Minister was to meet with US President George W. Bush at the White House. Because the delegation had many journalists accompanying him, on the evening of June 20, the Prime Minister organized a small party to celebrate Vietnam Press Day early. After sitting for a while, the Prime Minister excused himself and asked for permission to go straight to his office. He also confided that his work was busy, he would have to stay up all night to prepare documents as well as receive news and messages sent from the country.

On June 21, in the morning, Prime Minister Phan Van Khai met with US President George W. Bush at the White House, and that evening, a meeting between politicians, congressmen, businesses and the Vietnamese delegation was also solemnly held. I remember that day, there was a rather special memory: an extremist American veteran infiltrated the conference and had extremist actions, protesting when Senator McCain spoke about the relationship between the two countries Vietnam - US. Of course, this action was immediately intervened by US security.

Immediately after that, it was Prime Minister Phan Van Khai's turn to speak. In response, he was very calm and eased the tense atmosphere at that time by saying: "Life is like that and this is a very normal thing." The simple but profound statement demonstrated the political mettle of the head of state of Vietnam, and was later quoted and republished by the media of many countries.

During his 9 years as Prime Minister, Mr. Phan Van Khai left many important marks on the innovation and economic integration of Vietnam. Until now, many people still remember the frank statements and drastic decisions of former Prime Minister Phan Van Khai in the political arena. As for you, what is the most memorable mark of this Prime Minister?

To me, this is a Prime Minister who has fulfilled his role at important moments in history.

With a year left until the end of his term, but seeing that the situation needed to be transferred to the next generation and his health was not good, Prime Minister Phan Van Khai presented to the National Assembly his request to retire. Before resigning, he clearly stated the country's shortcomings and shortcomings that had not been overcome, such as the issue of corruption... and determined and accepted the responsibility of the Government as well as the Prime Minister himself. I think this is a very responsible person. At that time, no one cared or paid attention to the concept of "resignation", but clearly the way he proactively spoke and frankly admitted the shortcomings and limitations was very valuable and worthy of respect.

I still remember a funny story, outside the National Assembly corridor, when Mr. Phan Van Khai was still holding the role of Prime Minister. At that time, although I was in politics, I often wore collarless shirts and rarely wore ties. Seeing me, the Prime Minister smiled and said: "Yesterday, there was also a group of journalists who came to interview me, and there was a man wearing a collarless shirt like Mr. Quoc." I just smiled and explained the reason, then the Prime Minister also shared that he also did not like to wear ceremonial clothes but preferred simple clothes and said that when he retired, he would wear a Southern Vietnamese ao ba ba, a type of shirt without a collar. And so the Prime Minister and I laughed together. The story was simple but it also showed the simplicity and commonality of the high-ranking leader of the Vietnamese state.