Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc voiced his delight at the development of relations between the National Assembly of Vietnam and the US Congress while holding phone talks with some key parliamentarians of the Republican Party and the Democratic Party in Washington D.C on May 31 (local time).

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc had phone talks with some key parliamentarians of the Republican Party and the Democratic Party in Washington D.C on May 31

He had phone talks with Orrin Hatch – President pro tempore of the Senate and Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Bob Corker – Chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Sheldon Whitehouse – member of the Senate Budget Committee, and Ted Yoho – Chairman of the House of Representatives Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific.

PM Phuc said the recent expansion of the two parliaments’ relationship has helped enhance mutual understanding, narrow differences and create trust. 

He highly valued the US Congress’s role in bolstering the countries’ cooperation while applauding the US’s intensification of cooperation with the Asian-Pacific region, which will contribute to regional peace, stability, cooperation and development.

He expressed his wish to continue advancing the Vietnam-US comprehensive partnership on the basis of respect for each other’s political regime. The PM said he supports both sides in boosting trade cooperation and wants the Congress to help Vietnam’s agricultural, fruit and aquatic products enter the US market.

The Vietnamese leader also asked the Congress to further help his country address war consequences, including detoxifying Da Nang and Bien Hoa airports, assisting Agent Orange/dioxin victims, and clearing unexploded ordnance left from war.

Vietnam is ready to cooperate with the US to contribute to the maintenance of peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region, he stressed.

He also voiced his hope that the US Congress will continue paying attention to and advocating peace, security, safety and freedom of navigation and overflight, and the peaceful settlement of disputes in the East Sea on the basis on international law along with diplomatic and legal processes, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, as well as serious adherence to the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), toward the finalisation of a Code of Conduct of parties in the waters (COC).

The US Congress members spoke highly of the role of PM Phuc’s visit in the promotion of Vietnam-US relations, adding that both countries share many common interests, and the solidification of connections with Vietnam is supported by both Democratic and Republican Parties.

They affirmed that they attach importance to Southeast Asia and the US’s strategic partnership with ASEAN, and they also support stronger ties with the region.

They appreciated the consensus the Vietnamese and US governments reached in various issues, including the enhancement of the comprehensive partnership and the handling of trade issues on the basis of the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement. The congress members also applauded security, defence and education cooperation, as well as valuable trade agreements signed during PM Phuc’s visit.

The US parliamentarians valued Vietnam’s resolve to push ahead with economic reform and restructuring. They shared the view that both sides need to expand cooperation in such fields as war consequences settlement, people-to-people exchange, and exchange of scientific studies on water security and oceanography.

They agreed on the need for peaceful settlement of East Sea disputes basing on international law and diplomatic and legal processes, thus contributing to regional peace, security, stability, cooperation and development. 

The congress members also consented to bolster the two parliaments’ cooperation, adding that the US Congress will send many delegations to the region to step up linkages with Vietnam and other ASEAN nations.

At the phone talks, PM Phuc invited them to visit Vietnam and they accepted the invitation with pleasure.

US eyes stronger ties with Vietnam

The US administration attaches importance to and wishes for the stronger development in the relations with Vietnam in various fields in the time ahead, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said. 

In his speech at a State-level banquet for Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on May 31 in Washington DC, Tillerson described the official visit to the US by PM Phuc from May 29-31 as an important advance for the two sides to enhance mutual understanding and discuss measures to boost their comprehensive partnership in the coming time.

The US and Vietnam boast many opportunities to foster bilateral relations across areas, especially trade-investment, security-defence, and coordination in settling regional and international issues of common concern. 

The host revealed his intention to make an official visit to Vietnam in an appropriate time.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc asserted that after 22 years of normalisation of the diplomatic ties, Vietnam and the US overcame difficulties and challenges to turn their ties into the comprehensive partnership, with a strong development motivation. Since established in 2013, the Comprehensive Partnership between Vietnam and the US made impressive strides, and the two sides have shared numerous important common benefits at bilateral, regional and global levels.

Vietnam treasures the ties with the US, hoping that his visit will contribute to maintaining the development of the Comprehensive Partnership between the two countries, and creating motivation for the relations’ development in a stable, long-term, constructive and mutual beneficiary manner, on the basis of respecting politic institution of each other, he said.

VNA