US President Joe Biden at the press conference following talks between him and Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong (Photo: VNA) The following is President Joe Biden’s address tothe press published by the White House.
PRESIDENTBIDEN: Secretary General, thank you for welcoming me to Vietnam for this trulyhistoric moment.
Today, we can trace a 50-year arc of progressin the relationship between our nations — from conflict to normalization tothis new elevated status that will be a force for prosperity and security inone of the most consequential regions in the world.
We are evolving our partnership directly to aComprehensive Strategic Partnership, Vietnam’s highest tier of partnership. Andwe’re excited about that. A critical step for our nations that reflects thestrength of our relationship as we take on the challenges that matter most tothe future of our region and, quite frankly, to the world.
We’re deepening our cooperation on criticaland emerging technologies, particularly around building a more resilientsemiconductor supply chain. We’re expanding our economic partnership, spurringeven greater trade and investment between our nations.
For example, last year, a Vietnamese companysigned a 4 billion USD deal to build electric vehicles and batteries in NorthCarolina in the United States, which will create more than 7,000 jobs in theUnited States of America.
World-class Vietnamese technology companiesare going public on the U.S. stock market. And we’re welcoming more importantnew deals during this visit.
We’re working to tackle the climate crisis andto accelerate Vietnam’s clean energy transition; strengthening global healthsecurity and advance treatments for cancer and HIV/AIDS; enhance our security cooperation,including countering trafficking in persons.
I also raised the importance of respect forhuman rights as a priority for both my administration and the American people.And we’ll continue to — our candid dialogue on that regard.
Perhaps most vital to our future, we aredoubling down on our people-to-people ties. They’re the very heart of ourpartnership. That includes millions of Vietnamese Americans who strengthencommunities all across the United States of America every single day and are lookingforward to the outcome of this meeting.
Just this year, the U.S. supported theFulbright University in Vietnam, graduated its first class, and they’re workingto expand its new campus. One of my oldest and closest friends, Tommy Vallely,is very much involved in that.
Ladies and gentlemen, we’re also investing instrengthening the skilled STEM workforce, promoting educational exchanges andcollaboration among our scientists, our entrepreneurs, innovators to betterwork together to capture the enormous opportunities — and I mean enormousopportunities — of this new age of technology.
Let me close with this. All the progress overthe past 50 years — none of it was inevitable. It required years of hard workfrom leaders in both countries, including my friend who’s here today, theformer senator and secretary of state, now Special Presidential Envoy onClimate, John Kerry.
We got it done because of another friend whois no longer with us — I miss him — whose memorial we’ll be visiting tomorrow,the late John McCain.
Both men saw so clearly, as I and so manyothers did, how much we had to gain by working together to overcome a bitterpast.
Years later, I remember the hard work it took,as a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, to be able to normalizerelations in 1995.
And 10 years ago, when I was Vice President,we reached a new milestone for the launch of our initial ComprehensivePartnership. I’m incredibly proud of how our nations and our people have builttrust and understanding over the decades and worked to repair the painfullegacy the war left on both our nations.
It’s work that we pledge today to continue —clearing unexploded ordnance, remediating environmental damage from dioxin,expanding support for people with disabilities, and accounting for everyAmerican service member still missing in action in Vietnam as well as thefallen or missing Vietnam soldiers from that war.
Our cooperation on these painful issues, aswell as on forging new legacies, is one of shared peace and prosperity. It’s atestament — I mean this — it’s a testament for the resilience and spirit ofboth our peoples.
It’s a powerful reminder of all we canaccomplish when we’re able to transcend the pain of the past and embrace afuture of progress, one grounded on unity of our people.
So, thank you again, Secretary General.Vietnam is a critical power in the world and a bellwether for — in this vitalregion. And I look forward to continuing this new chapter in the story of ournation./.
VNA
