The most important thing between Vietnam and the United States is building political trust.

President Truong Tan Sang emphasized that the most important aspect of Vietnam-US relations is building trust, especially political trust.

(Full text of President Truong Tan Sang's speech at the Policy Dialogue at the Asia Society on September 28)

Dear Mr. Kevin Rudd,

Ladies and gentlemen,

I am delighted to be attending and speaking at the Policy Dialogue with U.S. officials, academics, and businesses at the Asia Society headquarters today.

I understand that the Asia Society is one of the leading international educational organizations in the United States, always committed to promoting mutual understanding and strengthening relations between leaders, organizations, and people in Asia, including Vietnam, and the United States through various initiatives and activities in arts, business, education, and policy dialogue. I sincerely thank the Asia Society and all of you for your contributions to the proud development of Vietnam-U.S. bilateral relations over the past twenty years since the normalization of relations.

President Truong Tan Sang delivers a speech. Photo: VNA

Ladies and gentlemen,

Over the past three days, heads of state and high-ranking leaders have met at the United Nations headquarters in New York City to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the Millennium Development Declaration and to adopt the document “Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.” This is a significant event demonstrating the political will and strong commitment of the international community to address common challenges in economic development, social justice, and environmental protection, and to work together towards a peaceful, safe, equitable, green, and clean world.

The recent Summit took place against a backdrop of improving global economic conditions, albeit with lingering risks; the strong development of science and technology, the trend of cooperation and integration, and globalization are opening up new opportunities for national development. However, the world still has over a billion people living in poverty, and challenges such as disease, social injustice, resource depletion, environmental degradation, climate change, conflicts, crises, violence, and escalating tensions in many places seriously threaten peace, security, and sustainable development globally.

Against this backdrop, the Asia-Pacific region is undergoing unprecedented and profound changes since the end of the Cold War. While continuing to be a dynamic and cooperative region, with integration remaining the dominant trend, increasingly serious challenges and risks to peace, stability, and sustainable development are emerging in the Asia-Pacific.

Besides the tense situation and high risk of conflict on the Korean Peninsula, territorial disputes, extremist terrorism, cybersecurity, aviation and maritime security, climate change, natural disasters, epidemics, and massive migration waves are becoming increasingly complex and dangerous. Of particular concern is the issue of territorial disputes and attempts to unilaterally change the rules and status quo in disputed maritime areas to establish control over these areas and vital international shipping lanes, disregarding international law. These become existential threats to peace, security, and stability in the region, posing new demands on global partnerships for sustainable development. This situation requires the shared attention, responsibility, and cooperation of all countries, including Vietnam and the United States, with the common goal of maintaining peace, security, stability, and development in the region and the world.

We are pleased with the rapid, positive, and effective development of the friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and the United States over the past two decades, especially since the two countries established a Comprehensive Partnership in July 2013. However, what I particularly appreciate and want to share with you is that the reason and driving force that helped us overcome our past wartime struggles and differences to become comprehensive partners as we are today is the fundamental shared interests between our two countries.

From the very beginning of negotiations between the two countries on the normalization of relations, we recognized and agreed that, in addition to significant bilateral benefits, our two peoples share common aspirations and interests in maintaining peace, stability, and cooperative development in the Asia-Pacific region.

Photo: VNA

This shared understanding clearly reflects the strategic vision of the leaders of both countries, leading to the political determination that has helped both countries overcome many difficulties and obstacles, both subjective and objective, to become friends and comprehensive partners as they are today. The interests we share are expanding along with the development of friendly relations and cooperation between the two countries on bilateral, regional, and global levels.

Today, the shared interests between Vietnam and the United States in maintaining peace, stability, and prosperity in the region encompass ensuring maritime and air security and safety, enforcing maritime law, protecting the marine environment, and resolving disputes peacefully on the basis of international law, without the use of force or the threat of force. What Vietnam and the United States share and cooperate on is also the common aspiration of the vast majority of peoples living in this region. Therefore, it can be said that today, cooperation between Vietnam and the United States has become an indispensable component in the international community's collective efforts to maintain peace, security, and development in the region.

Based on the broad common interests that our two countries share, I want to affirm that never before have we had such great opportunities to contribute more together to peace, stability, cooperation, and development in the Asia-Pacific region as we do now. The United States, as a global superpower, has many important interests in the region. At the International Conference on Regional Security in Hawaii on January 12, 2012, along with the statement that “the future of the United States is closely tied to the Asia-Pacific,” former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton affirmed that “the United States has a national interest in freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea consistent with international principles, practices, and law.”

Vietnam believes that once the United States shows greater interest in and commitment to security and prosperity in the region, along with increased US presence, relations, and cooperation with the region based on the principles and norms of international law, it will certainly be welcomed and supported by many countries.

In implementing its comprehensive international integration policy, Vietnam gives special priority to the Asia-Pacific region; it has been, is, and will continue to actively participate and make more substantial contributions to peace, stability, cooperation, and development; actively working with other countries, especially those in the ASEAN community and major powers, while always prioritizing coordination with the United States, to participate in building regional institutions, particularly those in which ASEAN plays a central role, in an effective manner, based on international law, with the goal of building the Asia-Pacific into a region of peace, security, stability, and prosperity.

Given the significant achievements we have made over the past 20 years since establishing diplomatic relations and the broad common interests our two countries share, I am confident in the bright future of Vietnam-US relations. Looking towards that future, I propose:

On the bilateral level, both sides need to cooperate actively and substantively to effectively implement the Vietnam-US Joint Vision Statement between General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and President Obama in July 2015 and the Joint Statement on Comprehensive Partnership between myself and President Obama in July 2013 with 9 specific pillars of the relationship.

I want to emphasize that, in this process, the most important point is that we need to build trust, especially political trust. This is a lesson we have learned from the past and from the differences in ideology, political systems, culture, and customs between our two nations. Vietnam will have, and only will have, such trust in the United States when the United States fulfills its commitment to respecting Vietnam's sovereignty, territorial integrity, and political system, and takes concrete actions to realize the statement, "The United States wants Vietnam to be prosperous, strong, and independent…".

For our part, alongside the comprehensive reform process aimed at building a Vietnam that is "prosperous, strong, just, democratic, and civilized," in which the fundamental freedoms of the people are increasingly respected and guaranteed, and building a rule-of-law state of the people, by the people, and for the people, we will steadfastly and consistently pursue an independent, self-reliant, diversified, multilateral foreign policy, comprehensive international integration, and be a reliable partner and responsible member of the international community.

In that policy, Vietnam will always value its relationship with the United States, sincerely hoping and working together with the US to build a stable, friendly, and long-term cooperative partnership for the benefit of both countries, and for peace, stability, and development in the region.

On a regional level, Vietnam and the United States need to cooperate closely with each other and with other countries to contribute to maintaining peace, stability, cooperation, and development in the Asia-Pacific region through the following measures: Firstly, strengthening regional institutions including ARF, EAS, APEC, and ADMM+ to be more effective in ensuring peace, security, and development. In 2017, the two countries will have the opportunity to cooperate to ensure the success of the APEC Conference in Vietnam, making a practical contribution to the goal of economic development in the region; Secondly, enhancing the central role of ASEAN in regional mechanisms; Thirdly, striving to conclude negotiations to implement the TPP, bringing development opportunities to its members; Fourthly, promoting respect for international law in relations between countries in the region, especially UNCLOS-1982 in resolving maritime disputes, strengthening the effectiveness of the DOC, and moving towards the COC. Fifth, close and in-depth cooperation is needed to promote collaboration within the Lower Mekong Initiative.

On a global level, the two countries need to strengthen cooperation and coordination in major multilateral forums, especially within the framework of the UN, focusing on issues of mutual interest such as development cooperation, peacekeeping, security, non-proliferation and arms control, counter-terrorism, nuclear safety, cybersecurity, water security, and responding to climate change and sea-level rise.

In that spirit, I hope and believe that the Asia Society will continue to play a bridging role in fostering friendship and will be one of the positive driving forces promoting the positive development of Vietnam-US relations in the future.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Historical lessons and practical experience have clearly shown that strengthening friendship and cooperation is the only correct path for Vietnam-US relations. In a spirit of frankness, goodwill, enhanced understanding, and narrowing differences, with many shared and significant interests, I believe that Vietnam and the United States will effectively utilize opportunities for cooperation to concretize the established vision for bilateral relations and deepen the Comprehensive Partnership in an effective and substantive manner, for a bright future of Vietnam-US relations, for the common benefit of the people of both countries, and for peace, stability, and prosperity in the region.

Now, I look forward to further discussions on the issues that you are interested in.

Thank you all./.

According to VOV