The hosting of the DPRK-USA Hanoi Summit Vietnam is a great opportunity for Vietnam to improve its position and influence in the region, according to US experts.

Talking to Vietnam News Agency’s Washington correspondent, former senior research assistant at the Brookings Institution Hunter Marston said that the selection of Vietnam as the host of the second DPRK-USA Summit has shown the Southeast Asian country’s growing diplomatic status.

Vietnam plays an important role in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as a significant diplomatic partner of many countries around the world and with a fiercely growing economy, he said, adding that the country is also an important partner of the US in Southeast Asia and has good relations with other regional powers such as Australia, India and Japan.

Marston said the event offers a good chance for Vietnam to further elevate its position and demonstrate its ability to successfully organise important events, noting that this is golden time for the nation to promote its role in contributing to regional and global peace. 

Sharing Marston’s view, Amy Searight – Senior Advisor and Director of the Southeast Asia Programme under the Washington D.C-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) –said that in recent years, Vietnam has demonstrated its ability to successfully host a range of summits, as well as big and vital events.

Like Singapore, Vietnam has very good security and is a dynamic economy in the region, she noted. 

Vietnam has developed sound economic policies as it joined the Comprehensive and Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTTP) agreement and as such become a shining economic model example for countries in the region, she said, adding that Vietnam's great successes are becoming increasingly recognised on the international arena.

Richard Cronin from the Stimson Centre said that, as the host of the second DPRK-USA Summit, Vietnam will have a chance to show its great potential for economic development and openness to the world, alongside its influence in the region. 

Cronin highlighted that Vietnam will be the rotating Chairman of ASEAN in 2020, while it is also trying to become a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council. All these factors will help enhance Vietnam's position to international onlookers. 

Meanwhile, Anthony Nelson, Director of East Asian and Pacific affairs at the US consultancy Albright Stonebridge Group,said that the event shows Vietnam's rising international position, as well as its role as a country with positive relationships with many great powers. 

Nelson said the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea wants ASEAN to get involved in the coming summit just like the case of Singapore in the first, adding that the summit will also see the US increasing its recognition of Vietnam as a partner in security issues. –VNA

US-DPRK Summit 2019