Vietnam keen on Biden visit this year

At a meeting with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman in Hanoi on Monday, he said a Biden visit would be “an event to follow up the successful trip” by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh to the U.S. in May.

Chinh had gone for the U.S. – ASEAN Special Summit and combined it with a bilateral visit.

Ngoc hoped the U.S. would continue to share information with Vietnam on regional initiatives and sought its support to overcome the consequences of war and make a switch to clean energy.

Sherman announced an additional allocation of US$19 million for mine detection and clearance in Vietnam, promising that the U.S. and other countries are ready to support Vietnam with resources, finance and technology to fulfill its pledge to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

At a meeting with Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son the same day, she said the U.S. attaches importance to the comprehensive partnership with Vietnam and hopes to escalate the relationship when appropriate.

She said Chinh’s trip was very successful and created an impetus for the continued development of bilateral relations, especially in areas like the economy, trade and investment.

Son said Vietnam considers the U.S. one of its most important partners and is ready to join it in “promoting a comprehensive partnership that is in-depth, effective and substantive on the basis of respecting each other’s independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and political institutions.”

Sherman promised that her country would continue to cooperate extensively and responsibly with the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean regions, and strengthen ties with ASEAN.

She was on a four-day visit to Vietnam starting last Friday.

She and her delegation met officials from various agencies to discuss bilateral cooperation and global and regional issues of mutual interest.

Vietnam and the U.S. normalized relations in 1995 and established a comprehensive partnership in 2013.

In 2016 the latter lifted an arms embargo it had imposed on Vietnam.

The U.S. continued to be Vietnam’s largest market in 2021, when exports were worth $91.5 billion after rising by 24 percent from the previous year.

Vietnam is the U.S.’s ninth largest commercial partner.