US President Joe Biden will pay a state visit to Vietnam from September 10 to 11 at the invitation of Secretary General Nguyen Phu Trong.
Speaking to the press on the afternoon of 8 September, Deputy Foreign Minister Ha Kim Ngoc emphasized that this was a very special visit. This is the first time that a US President has paid a state visit at the invitation of the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam. The visit coincided with the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Comprehensive Partnership between the two countries. For the first time, both the President and Vice President of the United States visited Vietnam for the same term. It is also a continuation of a nearly 30-year tradition of Vietnam-US relations, meaning that all current US presidents have visited Vietnam.
This visit shows that both sides attach great importance to each other in their foreign policies and policies towards the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean regions. For the United States, this visit shows that the United States attaches great importance to Vietnam’s political institutions, the Communist Party of Vietnam, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, and the role of Vietnamese leaders. This is a very important milestone in the journey of joint efforts of the two countries to realize the desire of President Ho Chi Minh, stated in his letter to US President Harry Truman in February 1946, that is, an important relationship between Vietnam . Full cooperation with America.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ha Kim Ngoc discusses with the press about US President Joe Biden’s state visit to Vietnam on the afternoon of September 8, Photo: Huy Hung
In the nearly 30 years since relations were normalized, trade between the two countries has grown dramatically and is extremely impressive. Two-way trade reached US$450 million in 1995, and will reach US$123 billion by 2022. Vietnam has grown rapidly, becoming the US’s 7th largest trading partner and the US’s largest trading partner in ASEAN. Also by 2022, the US is set to become Vietnam’s largest export market with a figure of USD 100 billion.
Regarding the priority areas of cooperation in Vietnam-US relations in the coming period, Deputy Minister Ha Kim Ngoc said that the areas of economic, trade and investment cooperation have high priority. The region remains the focus, foundation and driving force for joint cooperation in the relations between the two countries. Both countries will focus on areas such as supply chain cooperation, infrastructure development, high quality human resource training, energy transition, digital economy, green economy and manufacturing industry development.
Science-technology and innovation will be an important area of cooperation. Both countries will focus on implementing a digital technology platform, a semiconductor ecosystem and artificial intelligence. Also, focus will be on energy conversion, biotechnology, healthcare and pharmaceuticals. The next area is cooperation in overcoming the consequences of war. This is a bright spot, it can be called a model of cooperation between the two countries.
In addition, the two countries will also promote cooperation in UN peacekeeping activities, military medical training, relief and rescue and improvement of maritime and aviation capability. At regional and international forums, the two countries will also strengthen coordination within ASEAN, APEC, the United Nations and particularly with each other to jointly address global challenges such as climate change and security. Energy security, food security, water security, health security…
The US has always been one of the leading investors in Vietnam. By 2022, there will be more than US$11 billion of US direct investment into Vietnam, not including investments through branches of US companies in third countries. What is new compared to the past is that many Vietnamese businesses have invested in the US with capital amounting to billions of dollars, contributing to the creation of thousands of jobs for American workers.
