Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (R) receives US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - The Vietnam-US comprehensive partnershiphas recorded comprehensive and substantive development, positively contributingto security, peace, cooperation, and development in the region and in theworld.
Overcoming many challenges,Vietnam and the US normalised their bilateral diplomatic relations in 1995.
On July 11, 1995, US PresidentBill Clinton announced the normalisation of relations with Vietnam. Only hourslater, Vietnamese Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet issued a statement on thenormalisation. The event opened a new chapter in the realationshipbetween the two countries.
The 161st repatriation ceremony of the remains of American soldiers missing in the Vietnam War (MIA) takes place at Da Nang International Airport on June 27, 2023. (Photo: VNA)The two countries have successfully turned fromformer foes to friends and comprehensive partners in all fields, frompolitics-diplomacy, economy, education and science-technology to defence - security,with increasingly reinforced momentum and expanded scope of substantive andeffective cooperation.
With thevision and political determination of generations of leaders of the twocountries, Vietnam and the US have overcome many difficulties and obstacles toestablish a comprehensive partnership on the basis of respecting independence,sovereignty, territorial integrity and political regimes of each other. Theseprinciples have been reflected in the cooperation fields between thetwo countries.
Vietnam and the US officially established acomprehensive partnership on July 25, 2013. This is an important step in therelations between the two countries.
Since then, the Vietnam-US comprehensive partnership has been developingextensively, effectively, and substantively in the bilateral, regional, andinternational aspects.
The crucial foundation for the development of the relations is both sides’ affirmationof fundamental principles, such as respecting each other's independence, sovereignty,territorial integrity, and equal and win-win cooperation on the basis of internationallaw.
This has created a basis for the two sides to strengthen their political anddiplomatic relations through the regular exchange of all-level visits, thus enhancing understanding and deepening the relationship.
The visits to the US by Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, PrimeMinister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in 2015, 2017 and2022, respectively; and the visits to Vietnam by President Barack Obama,President Donald Trump in 2017 and 2019, and Vice President Kamala Harris in 2021 were prominent events in the high-level delegation exchanges betweenthe two countries.
2023 is an important milestone in the Vietnam-US relations as the year marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment oftheir comprehensive partnership (2013-2023).
Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong (R) and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. (Photo: VNA)During phone talks between PartyGeneral Secretary Trong and US President Joe Biden on March 29, thetwo leaders spoke highly of the positive and comprehensive development ofthe relationship between the two countries over the past time. They agreed topromote, develop and deepen the bilateral relationship for the sake of the twonations, and for peace, cooperation, and development in the region and theworld.
At a meeting with US Ambassador to Vietnam Marc E. Knapper on June 5, 2023, PresidentVo Van Thuong stressed that Vietnam and US have made significant strides intheir relations over the past 28 years since the normalisation of diplomatic ties, withcollaboration across all fields.
Vietnamalways attaches great importance to its relationship with the US, and considersthe country as one of its leading partners, he said, adding that the results achieved in the bilateral relationship are in line with the aspiration of the two peoples.
On the basis of the increasingly open political relations, bilateral economic cooperation, trade, and investment exchanges have developedstrongly. Since the normalisation of relations, trade turnover between the two countries hasincreased more than 240 folds, from half a billion USD in 1995 to more than 120billion USD in 2022. In the first six months of 2023, the trade hit 51.29billion USD.
The US has become the first export market of Vietnam to surpassthe 100 billion USD mark, while Vietnam is now the 7th largesttrading partner of the US. The US’s direct investment in Vietnam reached 11.73billion USD, ranking 14th among the countries and territories investing in Vietnam.
The US’s direct investment in Vietnam reaches 11.73 billion USD, ranking 14th among the countries and territories investing in Vietnam. - Illustrative image (Photo: VNA)The US continues to workclosely with Vietnam in addressing war consequences, improving maritime lawenforcement capabilities, and participating in UN peacekeeping operations. Thetwo sides have also cooperated more and more effectively at multilateral forums suchas ASEAN, the United Nations, the Asia-PacificEconomic Cooperation (APEC) Forum, and the MekongSub-region, in addressing regional and international issues of mutual concernsuch as sustainable development and climate change adaptation.
Other fields ofcooperation such as education - training, science - technology, and health haverecorded significant results. There are 23,000 to 25,000 Vietnamese studentsstudying in the US every year. Vietnam ranks first in Southeast Asia and fifthin the world in the number of students studying in the US.
The US remains in the top five in terms of international arrivals toVietnam, averaging 800,000 per year before the COVID-19 pandemic. Vietnamis striving to welcome 1 million US tourists.
Cooperation between localities andpeople-to-people exchanges have been also strengthened, facilitating economiccooperation, and contributing to enhancing mutual understanding between the twocountries. /.
