10 Years of Vietnam-US Comprehensive Partnership: Short Journey, Great Stride

The visit to the US in July 2015 by General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong has an important meaning for Vietnam-US relations. Photo: VNA

What are the most outstanding achievements in the 10-year journey of the Vietnam-US Comprehensive Partnership?

The common highlight is that over the past 10 years, the Vietnam-US relations developed strongly and deepened in all fields from politics, diplomacy, and economy-trade to culture, education and science-technology, healthcare, national defense-security, people-to-people exchange.

Each field of cooperation has its own highlights. In politics and diplomacy, mutual understanding and respect increased markedly. The two sides have always shown respect for each other's independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, and political institutions.

The two countries maintain regular exchanges of delegations and high-level contacts. General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and many senior Vietnamese leaders visited the US. All US presidents since the normalization of relations in 1995 also visited Vietnam.

I hope President Joe Biden will continue this "tradition." Group exchanges and high-level contacts are extremely important for maintaining and creating more motivation for the relationship.

Vietnamese Ambassador to the United States Nguyen Quoc Dung. Photo: Vietnamese Embassy in the US

The economic-trade relationship is the fastest growing, strongest pillar and the driving force behind the relationship in general. Over the past 10 years, two-way trade turnover increased more than 5 times, from US$25 billion in 2012 to nearly US$139 billion in 2022.

Vietnam has risen to the position of the 7th largest trading partner of the US worldwide. US investment in Vietnam continuously increased. Investment of Vietnamese enterprises in the US is also becoming a trend.

Every year, between 23,000 and 25,000 Vietnamese students study in the US.

Vietnam is the leading country in Southeast Asia and fifth in the world with students studying in the US. US tourists remained in the top 5 of international arrivals to Vietnam, reaching an average of 800,000 arrivals per year before the pandemic.

When the pandemic is over, we are striving to welcome one million US tourists to Vietnam, and hope to achieve this goal soon.

Cooperation in overcoming the consequences of war continues to be a high priority and achieved many concrete results.

The two sides devoted a lot of resources and stepped up activities to find and verify the remains of Vietnamese soldiers who died in the war, dioxin detoxification, and support for people with disabilities, and those affected by Agent Orange.

Vietnamese agencies coordinated with the US to search, identify and return to the US the remains of 733 missing servicemen.

Each field of cooperation between the two countries has its own progress, contributing to the 10 years of the Vietnam-US Comprehensive Partnership.

What are the key factors driving the miraculous development of Vietnam-US relations? In addition to the advantages, what difficulties do the two countries have to overcome to develop relations?

Many people use the word "miracle" when evaluating the relationship between Vietnam and the US. It is true that the two countries achieved many achievements that few could imagine 28 years ago.

However, the "sweet fruits" that the two countries achieved today are not due to luck or coincidence, but are the result of the process of persistent efforts of many generations of leaders, officials, and people of the two countries.

The overarching factor promoting Vietnam-US relations is the development of the cooperative relationship. It brings mutual benefits, meets the aspirations of the people, for peace and development of the two countries and the region.

Another important factor is how the two countries treat each other. First of all, it is respect, especially respect for each other's independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and political institutions.

The two countries have goodwill to cooperate and seek understanding to resolve differences, taking into account the legitimate interests of both sides.

In all international relations, there are not only favorable factors, objective and subjective difficulties are inevitable. The same is true of Vietnam-US relations.

The two countries have differences in history, culture, customs, and different levels of development. As a result, the war wounds between the two countries are still large, and time does not wait for us.

In addition, the international and regional environment changes rapidly and is complicated, and many global problems arise.

Although there are common interests and concerns, the two countries cannot have the same views and approaches on every issue.

However, it is important that the two sides have goodwill, sincerity and exchange to listen and understand each other's views.

That increases the similarities, narrows the differences. I think both Vietnam and the US are acting with that motto.

President Truong Tan Sang visited the US in July 2013, upgrading relations to a Vietnam-US Comprehensive Partnership. Photo: VNA

What are Vietnam's top priorities that need to be promoted to further deepen the Vietnam-US relationship?

Looking back at the new position of the country as well as the development history of the relationship, I believe that Vietnam-US relations will continue to develop to new heights. That serves the practical interests of the two peoples, contributing to maintaining peace, stability, security, cooperation and development in the Asia-Pacific region and around the world.

What I am most impressed and excited about is the high level of interest and understanding about Vietnam, the open, frank attitude and enthusiastic support of the US-Vietnam relationship of most Americans I meet. Indeed, the room for cooperation between the two sides is still large.

Ambassador Nguyen Quoc Dung welcomes US Senator Patrick Leahy at the Vietnamese Embassy in the US in October 2022. Photo: Vietnamese Embassy in the US

I believe that the common priority is how the cooperation between the two continues to grow stronger and deeper in all fields. In particular, each field has its own priorities.

Firstly, in political-diplomacy, the two countries continue to consolidate and enhance mutual understanding, increase visits and exchanges between the two countries at all levels, especially high-level exchanges and contacts.

Secondly, Vietnam and US will develop economic, trade, investment, science and technology cooperation towards stability and sustainability, minimizing trade remedies.

In addition, we will focus more on cooperation in emerging and high-tech fields such as the digital economy, green economy, circular economy, and maintaining the sustainability of the supply chain.

Third, in terms of people-to-people exchanges, it is necessary to pay more attention to cultural and artistic exchanges, to focus more on education and training in the direction of meeting the needs of Vietnam's high-quality human resources.

Fourth, the two countries need to accelerate cooperation in overcoming the consequences of war, increase resources and speed of work because the more time goes by, the more difficult conditions become.

Fifth, the two sides need to strengthen their cooperation more effectively at multilateral forums, especially within the framework of the ASEAN-US Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. APEC).

Vietnam and the US also need to coordinate to address global issues, including emerging issues such as the environment, climate change response, and clean energy transition.

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