President Tran Dai Quang on November 12 chairs an official welcome ceremony for US President Donald Trump, who is on a State visit to Vietnam on November 11-12.

President Tran Dai Quang and US President Donald Trump inspect the guards of honour at the welcome ceremony The two Presidents listen to the national anthems of the US and Vietnam

Measures to develop Vietnam-US relations talked

President Tran Dai Quang and President Donald Trump  hold talks in Hanoi 

President Tran Dai Quang and President Donald Trump discussed measures to enhance the relations between Vietnam and the US in a more practical and effective manner during their talks in Hanoi on November 12.

President Quang affirmed Vietnam’s consistent external policies of independence, self-reliance, and diversification and multilateralisation of international relations while proactively integrating into the world.

He hoped the Vietnam-US relations will continue to grow based on respecting the respective independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and political institution. 

President Trump expressed his pleasure to visit Vietnam for the first time and said the US attaches great importance to the friendship and comprehensive cooperation with Vietnam.

The two Presidents agreed that the establishment of the bilateral comprehensive partnership in 2013 lays an important foundation for Vietnam and the US to reinforce their ties.

Promoting economic, trade and investment ties will continue to be a focus in the bilateral comprehensive partnership in the time ahead, contributing to growth and employment in both countries.

Vietnam and the US agreed to increase high-level delegation exchanges and promote the efficiency of existing cooperation mechanisms while considering the establishment of new appropriate ones.

The two sides will step up cooperation in other fields such as the settlement of post-war consequences, people-to-people exchanges, science-technology, education-training, and security-defense.

President Quang thanked the US for its prompt assistance for Vietnamese flood victims and hoped the US will strengthen coordination with Vietnam in humanitarian aid activities and natural disaster relief in the coming time.

Quang and Trump welcomed the two countries’ efforts to complete the detoxification project at Da Nang airport and plan to soon implement similar ones at Bien Hoa airport and other locations.

They affirmed that Vietnam and the US share common benefits in maintaining peace, stability, cooperation and development as well as respect international law in the Asia-Pacific region, while agreeing to increase coordination at regional and international forums.

President Quang thanked the US for supporting Vietnam in hosting successfully the APEC Year 2017 and proposed the US push ahead with relations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

President Trump congratulated Vietnam on the successful organisation of the APEC Economic Leaders’ Week 2017 and highly valued the role of Vietnam as the host of the event. 

He affirmed the US will continue supporting the central role of ASEAN and promote the strategic partnership with the bloc.

Regarding regional issues, the two sides stressed the need to maintain security, safety and freedom of navigation and aviation in the East Sea. They agreed to address disputes via peaceful means and in line with international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982 UNCLOS), while respecting diplomatic and legal processes, implementing fully and effectively the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), and soon signing a Code of Conduct (COC) in the East Sea.

After the talks, host and guest answered reporters’ queries at a joint press conference, issued joint statement on Vietnam-US relations, and witnessed the signing of economic cooperation agreements worth over 12 billion USD.

PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc meets President Trump in Hanoi

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (R) meets with US President Donald Trump 

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc had a meeting with US President Donald Trump in Hanoi on November 12, during which the later expressed his pleasure to meet the Vietnamese Government leader again. 

The two sides said they were satisfied with the development in the bilateral relations after the US visit by PM Phuc in May 2017, particularly in the fields of politics-diplomacy, economics-trade, security-defense, and settlement of post-war consequences.

Vietnam and the US vowed to strengthen relations on the basis of respecting the respective independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, and political systems, for the benefits of both peoples as well as peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and around the world.

The host and guest exchanged specific measures to promote economic-trade-investment partnership, focusing on building a win-win cooperation framework, minimising trade-investment disputes, and implementing more effectively signed economic deals.

PM Phuc said Vietnam has been improving the business environment and encouraging US companies to make investment in the country. He called for stronger coordination to address issues of mutual concern based on promoting trade for mutual benefits.

He thanked the US for opening its market for Vietnam’s star apples and proposed the US consider the import of Vietnamese mangoes and other fruits while simplifying import procedures of the catfish inspection programme and soon launching a working group on Vietnam’s market economy mechanism.

President Trump agreed to step up win-win economic-trade-investment cooperation with Vietnam, and lauded Vietnam’s effort in handling prioritised trade issues, such as  the opening of its market for US farm produce, industrial products, and information-technology products and services.

While discussing the regional situation, the two sides agreed to address disputes in the East Sea via peaceful means and in line with international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), while respecting diplomatic and legal processes, implementing fully and effectively the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), and soon signing a Code of Conduct (COC) in the East Sea.

They pledged to strengthen coordination at regional cooperation mechanisms, including the upcoming East Asia Summit in the Philippines.

President Trump affirmed that the US will push ahead with cooperation with Vietnam to promote the bilateral comprehensive partnership in a more practical and effective manner.

On November 12 afternoon, the President left Hanoi, wrapping up his State visit to Vietnam on November 11-12 at the invitation of President Tran Dai Quang.

Party chief welcomes US President

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong has highly valued the significance of the current Vietnam visit by US President Donald Trump, saying it contributes to promoting the bilateral ties and the success of the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting hosted by Vietnam.

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong (R) receives US President Donald Trump

During his meeting in Hanoi on November 12, General Secretary Trong highlighted the development of relations between the two countries since the normalisation of their ties, saying that there is room for both sides to expand cooperation.

He proposed the two sides, together with improving cooperation’s effectiveness  in economics and trade, continue strengthening political trust and high-level contacts while boosting collaboration in education, human resources development and science-technology and coordination at multilateral forums.

He express his belief in the further development of the Vietnam-US relations in the future for the benefits of the two countries’ people, the region and the world.

He thanked the US President for his good sentiment on Vietnam and sharing toward people in central Vietnam who are suffering flood aftermath. 

President Trump, for his part, expressed his pleasure to meet Party General Secretary Trong and congratulated Vietnam on successfully hosting the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting. He also expressed his impression on the land, people and achievements of Vietnam.

He said the US and Vietnam boast common benefits to increase cooperation in the time to come.

The President informed his host of the outcomes of his talks with President Tran Dai Quang, saying that Vietnam’s trade surplus shows that Vietnam has manifested effectiveness in bilateral cooperation in recent years. 

He expressed his wish that Vietnam increases the import of products that are the US’s strength as an effort towards a balance in trade, and boost cooperation in other fields in the coming time.

VNA