Vietnamese Ambassador to the US: Senator John McCain takes the lead in promoting bilateral relations
After US Senator John McCain passed away at the age of 81 after a long battle with cancer, on August 26, a VNA reporter in the US interviewed Vietnamese Ambassador to the US Ha Kim Ngoc about Senator John McCain's contributions to Vietnam-US relations.
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| US Senator John McCain revisits the relief statue by Truc Bach Lake, where his plane crashed in 1967. Photo: Reuters. |
Sharing his feelings upon hearing the news of Senator John McCain's passing, Ambassador Ha Kim Ngoc recalled meeting Senator John McCain in the early 1990s, when McCain and Senator John Kerry were members of a special committee on missing Americans and American prisoners of war.
Mr. Ha Kim Ngoc also had many opportunities to welcome these two senators, accompanying Senator John McCain to Vietnam or acting as a direct interpreter for Senator John McCain during each of his working trips to Vietnam. Ambassador Ha Kim Ngoc expressed that he felt most deeply here was the strategic vision, leadership and great political determination of Senator John McCain in normalizing relations with Vietnam, despite facing great internal obstacles.
Recalling the outstanding marks of Senator John McCain in Vietnam-US relations, Ambassador Ha Kim Ngoc said that Senator John McCain had a very special position in the history of Vietnam-US relations. It can be said that he was a symbol of the process of reconciliation in Vietnam-US relations, of the spirit of reconciliation, overcoming complexes to normalize and continue to promote relations with a partner who was formerly an enemy. He was an enthusiastic supporter and tireless effort for the Vietnam-US Comprehensive Partnership.
Ambassador Ha Kim Ngoc stated that along with Senator John Kerry and many other senators such as Patrick Leahy or Jim Webb, Senator John McCain pioneered the process of normalizing and promoting the friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and the US. During the most difficult times of the relationship between the two countries, when there were still voices of suspicion, even opposition to the Vietnam-US relationship, Senator John McCain, Senator John Kerry and other senators played a decisive role in making the normalization process irreversible. Therefore, it can be said that Senator John McCain was instrumental in promoting the relationship between the two countries and later, when Vietnam and the US established a comprehensive partnership.
According to Ambassador Ha Kim Ngoc, later, Senator John McCain continued to play a pioneering role in promoting cooperation with Vietnam. Even when he was seriously ill, John McCain was still very interested in cooperation with Vietnam, interested in the East Sea issue, and how the catfish program affected poor farmers in the Mekong Delta.
Regarding the maintenance and promotion of Vietnam-US relations in the future after the passing of Senator John McCain, Ambassador Ha Kim Ngoc said that the work of Senator John McCain, along with many other US congressmen and former congressmen, has inspired generations of young congressmen in the US Congress to follow in their footsteps and contribute to promoting Vietnam-US cooperation. The Ambassador expressed his belief that with the support of both the Republican and Democratic parties in the US Congress, the Vietnam-US Comprehensive Partnership will continue to develop strongly, in line with the interests of the people of the two countries./.