Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc visits the US: Deepening partnerships with major countries

At the invitation of US President Donald Trump, the Vietnamese Prime Minister's visit to the US this time aims to promote and deepen partnerships with major countries, including the US.

At the invitation of President of the United States of America Donald Trump, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc will officially visit the United States from May 29-31, 2017. According to the schedule, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc will hold talks with President Donald Trump; and discuss measures to promote the comprehensive partnership between Vietnam and the United States in the coming time, especially in the fields of politics, diplomacy, economics, trade, education, overcoming the consequences of war, regional and international issues of mutual concern, for peace, stability and development of the region and the world.

More than 20 years since US President Bill Clinton announced the normalization of relations with Vietnam in 1995 and the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, the relationship between Vietnam and the US has achieved many important achievements. The US has actively supported Vietnam's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and supported Vietnam's participation in negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

In its foreign policy, the US considers Vietnam a promising partner in the Asia-Pacific region with which to cooperate and share common geopolitical, security and economic interests, as well as a common interest in ensuring freedom of navigation and trade in the East Sea, preventing the use of force in territorial disputes, and ensuring the peaceful resolution of maritime disputes.

The two countries established a comprehensive partnership on the occasion of President Truong Tan Sang's official visit to the United States in July 2013, opening up many opportunities and prospects for cooperation between the two countries in all fields. The two sides signed a number of important agreements and documents, creating a legal basis for comprehensive cooperation between the two countries, including the Framework Agreement on Trade and Investment; the Agreement on Nuclear Energy Cooperation for Peaceful Purposes, also known as the Civil Nuclear Agreement 123, etc.

US Ambassador to Vietnam Ted Osius said, “The United States is not satisfied with being the fourth or fifth investor in Vietnam. We want to be the number one investor in Southeast Asia. We can be the number one investor in Vietnam, but I think that to achieve that, we will have to do a lot of work, it will not happen naturally. There will be a lot of work, especially on legal regulations, to further deepen the trade relationship between the two countries.”

There are currently over 700 US investment projects in Vietnam with a capital of more than ten billion USD, ranking 7th out of 101 countries and territories investing in Vietnam. US FDI investment projects in Vietnam are mainly in the service sector, besides industry, construction, real estate, etc. According to Mr. Adam R. Sitkoff - Executive Director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam, "The US information technology sector is currently very strong here and most people wherever they go have an iPhone in their pocket as a sign of using US technology, showing that they want the relationship between the two countries to continue to develop."

Two-way trade has been increasing steadily over the years with an annual growth rate of about 20%. To date, two-way trade turnover has reached more than 30 billion USD, an increase of more than 130 times compared to 1994, making Vietnam a major trade partner of the US. According to Ms. Virgina Foot - President of the Vietnam - US Trade Council, economic relations have always played a very important role for both countries. That is why you can see it from the improvement of the lives of Vietnamese people as well as the production and business activities of American companies here. All focus on economic development.

Cooperation in education and training between Vietnam and the US has also developed strongly. Vietnam is currently leading among ASEAN countries and ranked 8th among all countries in the number of students studying in the US with about 16,000 people with a rapid increase every year. Many educational exchange initiatives have been implemented, including the Higher Education Alliance Program in Engineering; the Fulbright scholarship program provided by the US for Vietnamese students and the establishment of Fulbright University in Vietnam.

In addition, security and defense is one of the important areas of cooperation between Vietnam and the United States in recent years. The two countries have regularly held political, security and defense dialogues and agreed to exchange and cooperate in many important areas.

These include cooperation in preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, cooperation in preventing transnational crimes, improving law enforcement capacity at sea, defense procurement, United Nations peacekeeping operations, humanitarian assistance, disaster mitigation, search and rescue, overcoming the consequences of war, handling Agent Orange, mine clearance, searching for missing soldiers in the war, etc.

The two sides signed a Memorandum of Understanding on promoting bilateral defense cooperation in September 2011 and the US provided 18 million USD in aid and 5 fast patrol boats to help Vietnam improve the capacity of coastal patrol units. Many US warships have docked in Vietnam as part of military cooperation, including destroyers and flagships, rescue and medical vessels, etc. Vietnam-US naval cooperation was more specific when the two countries began participating in joint exercises. The two sides agreed to continue cooperation on law enforcement at sea, especially enhancing capacity to respond to disasters and search and rescue.

Regarding the East Sea issue, both Vietnam and the US agree on the view of resolving disputes through peaceful diplomatic measures, avoiding unilateral provocative actions, in accordance with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

One of the areas of close, long-term and active cooperation between Vietnam and the US in recent years is overcoming the consequences of war. Both sides have clearly shown their goodwill and determination to resolve the problems left by the war. The search for American soldiers missing in action in Vietnam by the US government has received active support and participation from the Vietnamese side.

The United States also supports Vietnam in clearing unexploded ordnance and preventing future casualties. Many projects to clean up Agent Orange dioxin and support Agent Orange victims in Vietnam are being implemented in some localities.

It is undeniable that the past two decades have been a period of great hardship and challenge with tireless efforts from both sides, but it has also been a very meaningful time for the Vietnam-US relationship. With the spirit of closing the past and looking towards the future, Vietnam and the US have joined hands to build trust and comprehensive cooperation in all fields.

These great achievements are certainly an extremely valuable foundation for the governments and people of the two countries to continue to further promote practical and effective cooperation, together nurturing the comprehensive partnership between the two countries to increasingly develop and reach new heights in the coming years.

Therefore, Ambassador Ted Osius always believes that the potential for cooperation between the two countries is huge for many reasons. In the US, the Vietnamese American community is quite large, currently there are more than 2 million Vietnamese Americans and the young generation in this community is especially focused on the future and opportunities brought by the relationship between the two countries.

“I think Americans want to know more about Vietnam today. And it is our responsibility to help the American people understand how rapidly Vietnam has changed; how great Vietnam's development prospects are and how strong a partner Vietnam has become for the United States,” Ambassador Ted Osius asserted.

According to Vietnamnet.vn