General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Nguyen Phu Trong and his delegation arrived at Andrews military airport in Washington D.C at 8:25 am of July 6 (local time) for an official visit to the US at the invitation of the US administration.

The Party leader was welcomed at the airport by Acting Assistant Secretary of State Scot Marciel, US ambassador to Vietnam Ted Osius, some US government representatives, Vietnam Ambassador Pham Quang Vinh and Vietnamese nationals in the US, along with diplomats from ASEAN countries.

This is the first time a Party chief of Vietnam has paid a visit to the US.

The visit takes place at a time important to Vietnam-US relations as both nations are celebrating 20 years of diplomatic ties.

During the visit, General Secretary Trong will hold talks with US President Barak Obama, reviewing bilateral relations over the past 20 decades and outline orientations for developing bilateral relations in the years to come in the spirit towards the future, building a comprehensive partnership for sustainable and effective cooperation for the benefit of each country, for peace, stability and development in the region and the world as a whole.

Party leader Trong also will work with congressional and government leaders, meet with US entrepreneurs aiming to strengthen understanding and friendship between the two countries, thereby further stepping up cooperation in multiple fronts.

The two countries have so far signed a number of documents and agreements, laying the foundation for stronger economic, trade and investment links. Two-way trade has experienced a surge and became a key cooperation field in recent years, posting an annual average increase of over 20% in the last three years, and reaching US$36 billion in 2014.

The US has become Vietnam’s largest export market this year. At the same time, the country’s total direct investment in Vietnam has come to nearly US$11 billion, putting it at the seventh place among the biggest foreign investors in Vietnam at the moment.

Many cooperation projects on education- training, health care, environmental protection, and security- defence have been underway.

Bilateral dialogues have been maintained regularly, including those on human rights. The 19th session of the Vietnam-US Human Rights Dialogue held in May was assessed as positive and substantial.

Some more photos of the welcoming ceremony for Party leader Nguyen Phu Trong:

VOV