Vietnam-US relations have grounds to reach new heights: Party chief

Receiving U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Hanoi, Trong congratulated Blinken’s first visit to Vietnam as Secretary of State, adding that the visit was meaningful as the two countries were commemorating their 10-year anniversary of establishing comprehensive partnership, according to a press release by the Central Committee for External Relations.

Trong also highly regarded the strong and comprehensive development of the two countries’ relations on the basis of respecting independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and political institutions, for peace, stability and development of both the region and the world.

Trong said the positive achievements in the two countries’ relations would be the foundation to bring it to new heights, for the interests of the people, peace, stability and development of both the region and the world.

He reiterated the results of a dialogue with U.S. President Joe Biden on March 29, where they discussed about major directions in bilateral relations, especially high-level meetings and exchanges.

In response, Blinken said the U.S. also highly regards the success of the talk between Trong and Biden. He reiterated the U.S.’s commitment to bolster cooperation with Vietnam in several fields, especially trade and investment, science and technology, education and training, and climate change response. The U.S. values its relations with Vietnam and wishes to bring the relations to new heights, he added.

Also on Saturday, Blinken met with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and had a dialogue with Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son. He also attended a ceremony to break ground for a $1.2 billion U.S. embassy compound in Hanoi.

Vietnam and the U.S. upgraded their relationship to comprehensive partnership in 2013.

The two countries’ bilateral trade turnover reached over $123.86 billion in 2022, an 11% increase from 2021. The U.S. is also the largest export market and the second-largest commercial partner for Vietnam.

Direct foreign investments from the U.S. to Vietnam reached over $11 billion, accounting for over 1,200 projects, placing it at 11th place among all countries and territories that invest directly into Vietnam. There are around 30,000 Vietnamese students studying in the U.S., contributing $1 billion to the country’s economy.