President Donald Trump invites Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc to visit the US

During a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh in Washington on April 20, National Security Council advisor HR McMaster conveyed a letter from President Donald Trump inviting Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc to visit the US.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh shakes hands with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in Washington on April 20. Photo: Provided by the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs

According to the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, during his official visit to the US from April 20 to 21, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh held talks with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and National Security Council Advisor Herbert Raymond McMaster, and met with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

According to news from the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at the meeting with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and National Security Council Advisor Herbert Raymond McMaster, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh affirmed Vietnam's consistent policy of implementing an independent, self-reliant, multilateral, diversified foreign policy, and active international integration;

Vietnam attaches importance to and is ready to work with the new US administration to consolidate and deepen the strong, stable, long-term, constructive and mutually beneficial comprehensive partnership, on the basis of respect for independence, sovereignty and political institutions, for the interests of the two countries, contributing to maintaining peace, stability, cooperation and development in the Asia-Pacific region and the world.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh assessed that the relationship between the two countries still has a lot of potential and opportunities for cooperation on all three bilateral, regional and international levels; said that the two sides need to maintain the development momentum of economic and trade relations - the focus and driving force of the relationship between the two countries; strengthen cooperation in education, training, science - technology, security - defense and overcoming the consequences of war, humanitarian issues, etc.

Highly appreciating the development of Vietnam - US relations in recent times; expressing confidence that the relationship between the two countries will continue to develop strongly; affirming that the new Administration continues to attach importance to and support the Comprehensive Partnership with Vietnam;

The Foreign Minister also said that the two sides need to increase delegation exchanges at all levels, especially visits to the US by senior Vietnamese leaders as well as visits and attendance at the 2017 APEC Summit in Vietnam by senior US leaders, to promote areas of cooperation with great potential.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson affirmed that the US will coordinate closely with Vietnam to ensure the 2017 APEC Summit takes place in a substantive manner with concrete results.

Discussing regional and international issues, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Security Advisor McMaster affirmed the importance of maintaining peace, stability, security, safety and freedom of navigation in the East Sea, supporting the settlement of disputes in the East Sea by peaceful means, based on diplomatic and legal processes and on the basis of international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), respecting the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), and moving towards a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).

During a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin highly appreciated the economic and trade relations with Vietnam and expressed his wish that the two sides continue to cooperate to promote mutually beneficial trade relations.

Secretary Mnuchin said the US supports Vietnam's continued enjoyment of preferential IDA loans from the World Bank in accordance with Vietnam's conditions in the coming period as well as cooperation activities within the APEC framework.

According to VOV