During his business trip to attend the ASEAN-US Special Summit, visit and work in the US and the United Nations on May 11-17, the Prime Minister had busy bilateral activities, from the time of landing in Washington, to the time in Boston and New York and until leaving San Francisco. These were meetings at the highest level and the most comprehensive ones between the US and Vietnam after two years of interruption because of the pandemic. One of the activities was a meeting with the US President at the White House, which was described as an open, sincere and frank talk.

Chinh said Vietnam-US relations are a special relationship. The two countries have overcome the painful past of the war and worked together to promote a comprehensive partnership which is substantial and effective in all fields.

The US President said he personally has many feelings about Vietnam and Vietnamese people. When he was a senator, he and his friend and co-worker John McCain lobbied the American political community to promote relations with Vietnam.

Biden agreed with Chinh that independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and political regime of nations must be respected, and that it is not necessary to use force to settle disputes but settle in a peaceful way on the basis of international laws and the UN Charter, and ensure navigation and aviation freedom in accordance with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

After Chinh conveyed an invitation by Party Committee Secretary General  Nguyen Phu Trong and Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc to visit Vietnam, Biden accepted the invitation and said he will visit Vietnam within a reasonable time.

The exchange of the leaders of the two countries showed the "sincerity, trust and responsibility" of the two sides. This was also the message throughout all the meetings in the US.

Receiving the Prime Minister and the Vietnamese delegation, Senate Permanent Chair Patrick Leahy said the Senators present at the meeting all have special and lasting affections for Vietnam and highly appreciated the fact that the two countries have overcome their differences and the pain of war to build a better future together.

“The US Congress always has generations of congressmen supporting Vietnam-US relations," said Leahy.

The Senators shared their memories about the country and people of Vietnam and the relationship between Vietnam and the US, affirmed that they will continue the work of Leahy after his retirement to promote the two countries' relations, effectively resolve issues of mutual concern, and continue to promote the Vietnam-US comprehensive partnership.

Another meeting that marked Vietnam-US relations was the lunch and working session of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh with the US President's Special Envoy for Climate John Kerry at his home in Boston.

Chinh expressed his appreciation for the sincere affection that Kerry has towards Vietnam and the Vietnamese people, as well as his sense of responsibility and tireless dedication to Vietnam - US relations for many years.

Chinh praised Kerry, who, in leadership positions in the administration and the Congress, has contributed to building a bipartisan consensus in favor of Vietnam-US relations, especially cooperation in overcoming war consequences. An important part of the reconciliation process is healing and building trust between the peoples of the two countries.

Kerry expressed his thanks to the Government of Vietnam for the respectful reception every time he visits Vietnam. He reaffirmed that the US consistently attaches importance to the comprehensive partnership with Vietnam and supports Vietnam to play an increasingly proactive and substantive role in the region and in responding to international issues, including climate change.

Kerry expressed his special affection, impression and deep memories with the country and people of Vietnam and affirmed that in any position, he would strongly support the development of the Vietnam-US relationship. 

According to Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ha Kim Ngoc, at the bilateral meetings of the Prime Minister during the business trip to the US, all circles in the US expressed their appreciation towards the relationship with Vietnam, affirmed their respect for the political system and support Vietnam to become " strong, independent and prosperous", while looking forward to the further development of the bilateral relationship. 

The two sides had a substantive and frank dialogue about the Vietnam - US comprehensive partnership and development orientations in the coming time.

Particularly, the two sides agreed to work closely to implement important outcomes of previous high-level visits, especially the Joint Vision Statement of the two countries on the occasion of the 2015 visit to the US by Vietnamese Party Secretary General Nguyen Phu Trong, on the basis of key principles established by the two sides, especially respect of each other's political regime, independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, cooperation for mutual benefits, and respect for the United Nations’ Charter and international law.

To convey the message of "sincerity, trust and responsibility" in international cooperation and solve global problems as well as promote Vietnam – US relations, the head of the Government of Vietnam successfully convinced the local political circle, supported by domestic and foreign public opinion.

That is why the working visit to the US by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has once again affirmed Vietnam’s increasingly high prestige and position in the international arena.

Thu Hang