Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh Welcomes US President Joe Biden

Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (L) meets with US President Joe Biden (Photo: VGP)

Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with US President Joe Biden on May 12 (US time) as part of his trip to the US for the ASEAN-US Special Summit held in Washington D.C, according to VNA. During the meeting, the two countries' leaders discussed bilateral relations as well as regional and international issues of mutual concern.

PM Chinh congratulated President Biden on their achievements in the first 14 months of his administration.

President Biden informed PM Chinh that the Covid-19 pandemic was completely under control in the US, and the unemployment rate has dropped to a record low of over 3.6 percent. The US government has helped create more than 9.8 million jobs and average wages have increased by 5.5 percent.

The Vietnamese Government leader stressed that Vietnam-US relations are "special" as the two countries have overcome the pains and devastations of the war, and are actively cooperating to make the Comprehensive Partnership even more substantial and effective across all areas.

Vietnam wants the US to continue to support and cooperate with Vietnam in areas where the US has strengths and Vietnam has potential and needs, such as disease prevention and control, digital transformation, diversification of supply chains, climate change response, and human resources training.

President Joe Biden (R) welcomes PM Pham Minh Chinh to the US for the ASEAN-US special summit. (Photo: VGP)

For his part, Biden assured that the US is eager to cooperate and assist developing and underdeveloped countries in various areas, including economic and trade development, disease control, and climate change response.

He said his administration had lobbied the US Congress to allocate US$21 billion for countries worldwide for Covid-19 vaccines, medicines, and medical equipment, as well as for effectively responding to future epidemics. He affirmed that the US would make every effort to increase support for Vietnam and other countries in the region in this regard.

During the meeting, the Vietnamese PM told his host that climate change, epidemics, and other non-traditional security challenges are global issues, and countries need a global and multilateral approach to solving these problems. He expressed his wish that the US would strengthen cooperation and support Vietnam in developing a green and circular economy, diversifying supply chains, and converting to sustainable energy, according to VOV.

Discussing regional and international issues of mutual concern, President Biden and PM Chinh agreed on the need to respect the independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, and political institutions of countries; refrain from the use of force, and peacefully settle disputes and conflicts on the basis of international law and United Nations' Charter; ensure freedom of navigation and overflight in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 (UNCLOS 1982).

On this occasion, PM Chinh respectfully conveyed the invitations of Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and President Nguyen Xuan Phuc to President Biden to soon visit Vietnam. President Biden thanked the PM and said he would arrange to visit Vietnam at a time that is suitable for both sides.

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