New United States Ambassador to Viet Nam David Bruce Shear said his top priority during his term of office was to boost economic co-operation between the two countries.
At a press conference held in Ha Noi yesterday to mark the beginning of his term, Ambassador Shear said that since the two countries established diplomatic ties 16 years ago, Viet Nam-US relations had seen progress based on mutual understanding.

Since the Viet Nam-US Bilateral Trade Agreement took effect in 2001, two-way trade had risen from around US$1.5 billion to $18.6 billion in 2010, a year-on-year increase of around 20 per cent, he said.

He vowed to maintain the two-way trade growth and facilitate US business activities in Viet Nam.

During her visit to Viet Nam in October 2010, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton proposed the development of a strategic partnership between the two countries, said Shear, adding that his job was to clearly define the strategic partnership which began with building confidence.

He committed to doing all he could to build trust with Vietnamese partners.

Shear said he would continue to place educational co-operation as one of his top priority tasks and would work with Vietnamese partners to promote bilateral co-operation in education.

The ambassador visited Da Nang city on the central coast immediately after taking office in Viet Nam. He attended the repatriation ceremony for the remains of US servicemen and visited an Agent Orange/dioxin clean-up site at the Da Nang airport.

Ambassador Shear said he and his family visited Viet Nam as tourists in 2007, and said that they were attracted to Ha Noi and Viet Nam by the hospitality and cuisine.

VNS