General Secretary hopes the United States will expand its market for Vietnamese goods.

The General Secretary expressed his wish that the United States would expand its market for Vietnamese goods and soon recognize Vietnam as a market economy.

Immediately after arriving in Washington, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation had the first activities during their official visit to the United States.

On the afternoon of July 6 local time (the morning of July 7 Vietnam time), General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong received US Trade Representative Michael Froman. General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong congratulated Mr. Michael Froman on the US Government being granted Fast Track Negotiating Authority (TPA) by the US Congress, saying that this is a very positive signal for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiation process and hopes to contribute to promoting the early conclusion of TPP negotiations.

General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong received US Trade Representative Michael Froman.

US Trade Representative Michael Froman expressed his pleasure at meeting General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong during this historic visit; he believes that the Vietnam-US relationship in general and the bilateral economic-trade relationship in particular will have new and increasingly positive developments after the General Secretary's visit.

US Trade Representative Michael Froman highly appreciated the achievements in economic and trade cooperation that the two countries have achieved after 20 years of normalization of relations; said that there is still much potential for the Vietnam - US economic and trade relations to develop further in the coming time. The US will continue to cooperate with Vietnam on the path of development and increasingly deep integration into the global economy.

General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong emphasized that international integration is Vietnam's consistent policy. In recent times, Vietnam has been actively integrating deeply into the regional economy. Participation in the negotiations of the TPP Agreement - a free trade agreement with very high standards, shows this consistent policy of Vietnam. At the same time, the General Secretary also said that Vietnam is the country with the lowest level of development in the TPP, so it also faces the most challenges and must amend the most legal regulations when participating in the TPP and requested the US side to support, consider Vietnam's level of economic development and have necessary and appropriate flexibility for Vietnam in the TPP negotiations.

The General Secretary also expressed his hope that the United States would expand its market for Vietnamese goods and soon recognize Vietnam as a market economy, especially since Vietnam has joined a high-standard and comprehensive agreement like the TPP.

Trade Representative Michael Froman discussed with the General Secretary a number of issues related to the TPP negotiation process and said that the TPP, once signed, will bring many benefits and great trade and investment opportunities to all participating parties, including businesses and people of the United States and Vietnam. The General Secretary affirmed to Trade Representative Michael Froman that Vietnam has been demonstrating its commitment to the TPP negotiation process and will proactively and actively coordinate with the United States and other countries to promote the early conclusion of negotiations.

Afterwards, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and the delegation visited the Memorial of President Thomas Jefferson. He was the third President of the United States, serving 1801-1809.

General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong visits the Thomas Jefferson Memorial

Recently, in the United States, many activities took place to celebrate the 239th anniversary of Independence Day, July 4th. In the history of the United States, President Thomas Jefferson was the main author of the Declaration of Independence of this country.

When President Ho Chi Minh read the Declaration of Independence giving birth to the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, he opened by quoting the saying “All men are created equal. They are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, among which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” in the Declaration of Independence of the United States. Thomas Jefferson, when he was the US Ambassador to France, proactively asked Prince Canh, who was also in Paris at that time, to provide some good rice varieties to bring back to the US for trial planting.

This story took place in 1787 and is recorded as the earliest connection between Vietnam and the United States. General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong laid flowers at the Memorial; visited the statue of President Thomas Jefferson and viewed documents related to the life of Thomas Jefferson - an outstanding figure in American history.

He initiated the peaceful transfer of power between the Democratic and Republican parties; oversaw the Louisiana Purchase from France in 1803, which doubled the size of the United States; tried to keep the peace and prevent the United States from being drawn into the war between Britain and France; was also involved in the creation of the Virginia Statute for religious freedom, and founded the University of Virginia.

The Jefferson Memorial was built in classical architectural style with a system of pillars supporting a hemispherical dome, inaugurated in 1943 on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of Thomas Jefferson's birth.

Also yesterday afternoon (early this morning Vietnam time), General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation attended and witnessed the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner handover ceremony between the US Boeing Corporation and Vietnam Airlines.

General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong witnessed Boeing CEO Ray Conner handing over the symbolic key to the first Boeing 787-9 to Vietnam Airlines CEO Pham Viet Thanh.

The ceremony was held at Ronald Reagan Airport. Attending the ceremony on the US side were Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx, representatives of the Department of Commerce, the Department of State, the US Export-Import Bank, the US Trade and Development Agency, and the US Ambassador to Vietnam. General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong congratulated the event on its important significance in the plan to expand and innovate its fleet, making Vietnam Airlines the first airline in Asia-Pacific to receive and operate two new generation modern aircraft, the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner and the Airbus A350-900 XWB.

According to the plan, this July, Vietnam Airlines will put into operation the Boeing 787-9 aircraft on the domestic route between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City; then the first international route between Vietnam and London, becoming the first airline in Southeast Asia to operate the latest complete version of Boeing on direct flights from Southeast Asia to Europe.

The first Boeing 787 Dreamliners of Vietnam Airlines delivered today are among 19 wide-body aircraft with modern technology produced by Boeing for Vietnam Airlines to expand its fleet to improve operational capacity. Speaking at the handover ceremony, General Director of Vietnam Airlines Pham Viet Thanh said: "With outstanding features, using environmentally friendly technology, more safety and comfort, the 787 fleet will bring Vietnam Airlines customers new experiences with improved service quality."

General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong visits the Business Class cabin on the Boeing 787-9 aircraft

US Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx commented, “The relationship between Boeing and Vietnam Airlines is a partnership that can create many jobs and many opportunities for economic development in the United States. In the United States, we have a saying, “Win-Win,” which means you win, we win, and both sides benefit.”

Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang affirmed that the delivery of the new generation Boeing 787 aircraft is an important milestone affirming the good and effective relationship not only between the two enterprises but also the relationship between the two countries in the field of trade and economy - one of the focuses of Vietnam - US cooperation.

On this occasion, Vietnam Airlines and Boeing also held a signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding. In the agreement, Boeing offered 8 Boeing 787-10 Dreamliners and 8 Boeing 777-8xs. Vietnam Airlines will review the pre-feasibility study development plan and approval report before reaching an official agreement.

This afternoon, US time (tonight, Vietnam time), US President Barack Obama will hold talks with General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong to promote and further deepen the Vietnam - US Comprehensive Partnership in the coming period./.

According to VOV