On June 12, after carrying out scheduled activities in HCM City, Sherman came to Hanoi where she paid a visit to a sports center for people with disabilities and spoke with athletes there.

She said that creating opportunities for development and equal participation in all aspects of life for people with disabilities has long been one of the US’s policies.

“Like Vietnam, we always try to bring an equal and respected life to everyone in society,” she said.

The US plans to work with Vietnam in a November program on bringing athletes and coaches for training.

At the meeting, Sherman listened to athletes and shared her personal experiences. She said the stories of the athletes “teach us that we can’t always have success in our lives, but failures will give us lessons and we can make the most of the joys from self-improvement, friendship and experiences when attending tournaments”.

She emphasized the importance of people-to-people exchanges and affirmed that the US will, together with Vietnam, continue to do what it can to organize tournaments and support athletes.

Do Ngoc Thanh, chief of the division of sports for people with disabilities, said that training programs will be an opportunity for athletes to exchange experiences. They will have opportunities to prove their abilities at a higher level.

There are about 100 athletes practicing in six sports, including athletics, swimming, badminton, weightlifting, chess, and table tennis.

At a working session in HCMC on June 12, Sherman toured the Sai Gon River together with local environmental activists to learn about the impact of climate change and water pollution in the southern region of Vietnam. The US will closely cooperate with Vietnam to obtain climate goals. 

At a meeting with HCMC Party Committee Secretary Nguyen Van Nen, Sherman said the US appreciates the Government of Vietnam’s policy on shifting to clean energy, which can be seen in the investment and development of wind power farms.

She believes that similar projects in the future will help Vietnam fulfill its commitment of having net zero emissions by 2050, which was released by Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at COP 26 in 2021.

Sherman expressed her respect for the affection that HCM City gave to her, and said the visit marked a new milestone for relations between Vietnam, HCM City and the US.

Nen said he respected her interest and role in strengthening and deepening the Vietnam-US comprehensive partnership.

The relationship has witnessed considerable progress in recent years with substantial cooperation in many fields, including trade, investment and education.

HCM City in the first six months of 2022 received attention from the US political and business community. John Kerry, the US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, visited Vietnam in May.

Nen said that HCM City, as an economic center of Vietnam, is ready to play the role of a catalyst to promote bilateral relations between Vietnam and the US through cooperation at a local level.

As one of the 10 cities in the world that suffer the most from climate change, HCMC wants to promote cooperation with the US in coping with climate change.

In Hanoi, Sherman scheduled meetings with several leaders, including Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh, Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ha Kim Ngoc to discuss Vietnam-US relations as well as Washington’s support for Vietnam.

She was also expected to announce additional support for unexploded ordnance survey and clearance, demonstrating Washington's commitment to addressing the consequences of war. She also planned to discuss the recovery of supply chains with representatives of the private sector.

The US State Department said Sherman would visit four Asian countries including South Korea, the Philippines, Vietnam and Laos from June 5-14. The visit shows the US’s long-term commitments in the Indo-Pacific region, following the ASEAN-US Summit in May.

Tran Thuong