Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong met and granted an interview tothe US press prior to his official visit to the US on July 3.
The following is the translated version of the interview.
Question 1 : Vietnam and the US have just marked 40 years since the endof the war and are to celebrate the 20th anniversary of theirdiplomatic relationship. What is your assessment about the Vietnam-USties? What are the challenges to the relations between the twocountries, and what can the US do to improve the relations?
Answer:I believe that the Vietnamese and American people and the entireprogressive mankind aspire to peace and wish to live in peace. No onewants wars. Unfortunately, the history of Vietnam – US relations had agloomy chapter, leaving behind heavy legacies in both nations. Time hasshown us that above all is our burning desire for peace and aflourishing friendship and cooperation between us, and the two countrieshave managed to “put the past behind, rise over differences, maximizesimilarities and head to a brighter future”.
Forty-yearsafter the war and 20 years after normalization, from former enemies,Vietnam and the US have now become friends and actively engaged inComprehensive Partnership since 2013. This is really a long stride thatfew could imagine 20 years ago.
In 1995, the two sidescooperated with each other mainly in searching for Missing In Action(MIA) soldiers. Now, it has been expanded to all areas, politically,diplomatically, in economic and trade, culture and education, scienceand technology, security and defence, and people-to-people exchange.Among South East Asian countries, Vietnam has the largest number ofstudents studying in the US. Trade value between our two countries inthe last 20 years increases 130-folds. Our two countries are now joiningother countries in negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement(TPP), which is of strategic importance to regional economiccooperation. In addition to our bilateral efforts, we have strengthenedcooperation on regional and global issues such as non-proliferation,anti-terrorism, climate change response, food and water security, UN PKOwith a view to contributing to peace, stability, cooperation anddevelopment in the Asia Pacific and beyond.
Our leadershave visited each other or met at the sideline of regional andinternational forums on a regular basis. This helps build mutual trustand create more opportunities to discuss ways and means to enhancebilateral relations. My visit to the US this time has no other purposethan that and it is expected that President Obama’s visit to Vietnamwould be made later this year.
Like in any relationsbetween two countries in the world, Vietnam and the US have differenceson a number of issues such as perception on democracy, human rights andtrade. To resolve differences, I believe the most effective way would beopen and constructive dialogues to better understand each other so thatdifferences won’t become hurdles to the overall bilateral relations.
Question 2 : Your official visit to the US is a historic visit. What are the specific objectives of the visit?
Answer:This is the first ever visit to the US by a General Secretary of theCommunist Party of Vietnam at the invitation of the US administration asthe two sides are celebrating the 20 th anniversary of diplomaticrelations. It is a good opportunity for us to review the past, exchangeviews on a vision of “future outlook” and work together for long-termfriendship and cooperation based on mutual respect and respect for eachother’s political regime. This will benefit our people and contribute topeace, stability, cooperation and prosperity in the region and theworld.
I would like to reiterate to the US Government,Congress and people our consistent foreign policy of independence,self-reliance, diversification and multilateralization of externalrelations and active international integration. Vietnam would like to bea friend and reliable partner of all countries in the world. In thiseffort, we attach great importance to the relations with the US as oneof the most important partners in our foreign policy.
Thisvisit will provide a chance to further deepen the ComprehensivePartnership between our two countries in all areas. Apart from bilateralcooperation, I hope to exchange views with the US leaders on along-term vision of regional and global issues of mutual concern such asthe situation in the Asia Pacific, TPP, climate change, regionalmechanisms for political, economic, security cooperation, maritimesecurity and safety with a view to maintaining peace, stability,security, cooperation and development in the region and the world.
Ihope that this is a chance for our two sides to have an open and frankdiscussion on issues where differences still exist. This would enhancemutual understanding, narrow the differences and gradually build uptrust between us to add more substance and efficiency to long-termrelations between our two countries.
Question 3: Will Vietnam persuade the US to fully lift the ban on lethal weapons sale?
Answer: Given the active and robust development in the ComprehensivePartnership between the two countries, Vietnam looks forward tostrengthening the multi-faceted cooperation, including security anddefense cooperation. The fact that US partially removed the Ban onLethal Weapons Sale to Vietnam and works to fully remove the Ban in thefuture is a strong testimony of our mutual trust, creating theconditions for us to deepen the Comprehensive Partnership and implementthe 2011 MOU on Vietnam – US Defense Cooperation and the 2015Declaration on Shared Vision of Vietnam and the US on DefenseCooperation.
Question 4: What role do you think the USplays and what can the US do to maintain stability in the Asian-Pacificregion in general and the East Sea in particular?
Answer:We believe that as one of the world's leading major powers and a memberof the UNSC P5, the US has a great interest and responsibility inmaintaining peace and stability in the world, particularly in theAsia-Pacific.
Vietnam welcomes the US policy to attachimportance to the promotion of multi-sided cooperation withAsia-Pacific. I believe that on the basis of mutual understanding andrespect, the US could further strengthen bilateral relations with eachcountry in this region, especially in such areas as economic and trade,science and technology, education and training, climate change response,etc. Cooperation in these areas will bring about concrete benefits tothe people, thereby creating a solid and long-lasting foundation forpeace and stability in the region.
With regard to the EastSea issue, I really appreciate the US' statements to support a peacefulapproach to settlement of disputes in accordance with internationallaw, especially the 1982 UNCLOS, the Declaration on the Conduct ofParties in the South China Sea (DOC) and efforts to reach a Code ofConduct (COC).
We are all aware of the strategic locationof the East Sea. About 50 percent of the world's shipping traffic passesthrough sea routes in this area. Therefore, maintaining peace,stability, maritime security and safety, freedom of navigation andaviation without changing the status quo, conducting militarization,imposing sea and air control in the East Sea is not only in the interestof any single country but the shared desire of all countries in theregion and beyond. I hope that the US will continue to have appropriatevoice and actions to contribute to peaceful settlement of disputes inthe East Sea in accordance with international law in order to ensurepeace and stability in the Asia-Pacific and the world.
Question5 : China and the US are major economic partners of Vietnam. At thesame time, both countries are working to increase their influence in theregion. What does Vietnam do in this situation?
Answer:China and the US are both major powers in the Asia-Pacific and theglobal stage. Evidently, they will have important roles and significantinfluences in the region. Reality shows that major powers will bewelcomed by the international community if they act in accordance withinternational law without affecting legitimate interests of othercountries and if they make active and constructive contributions to thepeace, stability, cooperation and development in the region.
Currently,the US and China are both leading economic partners of Vietnam.Therefore, promoting friendship and mutually beneficial cooperation withboth the US and China is one of the top priorities in our foreignpolicy. In addition, like other countries in the region, Vietnam hopesthat the US-China relations would grow steadily and that is in theinterest of peace, stability and cooperation in the region.
Question6 : What do you expect from the National Congress of the CommunistParty of Vietnam slated for next year? What should the Party do toaddress the issue of corruption which is undermining the public’s trustin the Party?
Answer: The 12th National Congress of theCommunist Party of Vietnam is of great importance to our country. TheCongress will review the implementation of the 11 th Congress Resolution(2011-2015), look back on the path of 30-year reform and put forthmajor guidelines and policies in all areas in the next 5 years in orderto further accelerate the comprehensive reform, defend the independenceand territorial integrity of the Fatherland, firmly maintain theenvironment of peace and stability for national development, improve thepeople’s life, build rule-of-law and socialist state of the people, bythe people and for the people, enhance the country’s position,proactively integrate into the world, strive to build Vietnam into amodern and industrial nation.
To strengthen thecredibility and leadership of the Communist Party and the governance ofthe Vietnamese state, it is our policy to step up the struggle againstcorruption, considering this one of important tasks. During the lastyears, our anti-corruption efforts have produced positive outcomes andwon the support of the people. However, we are not complacent. We willbe determined to make greater efforts to complete this important task.
Question 7 : One of the obstacles to Vietnam-US is theissue of human rights. What is your opinion about criticism that thereare no freedom of press and basic freedoms in Vietnam and the country’shuman rights record is worsening in recent years?
Answer:In the very first lines of the Declaration of Independence thatPresident Ho Chi Minh read 70 years ago, he quoted the AmericanDeclaration of Independence and the French Declaration of the Rights ofMan and of the Citizen. Respecting and struggling for human rights arean aspiration of the Vietnamese people and the goal of the CommunistParty. I believe that it is also the common aspiration of humanity andthe common objective of all progressive regimes in the world.
Inreality, after 30 years of Reform, the rights of the Vietnamese peopleare now better ensured by the State of Vietnam. This has beeninstitutionalized in the Constitution and legal system of Vietnam andelaborated in different policies and measures for implementation fromthe central to local levels. Through such efforts, Vietnam has been ableto make many achievements in ensuring human rights in all civil,political, economic, cultural and social areas. This effort wasrecognized and appreciated by the international community, which isevidenced by Vietnam’s election to the UN Human Rights Council 2014-2016by vast majority vote. Other countries also appreciate Vietnam'sefforts to protect and promote human rights in our country as well asour active contributions to the international community. Nonetheless,much needs to be done to better ensure the rights of the Vietnamesepeople.
It is true that there remain differentunderstanding between the US and Vietnam with respect to the issue ofhuman rights. We should maintain dialogues in an open, candid andconstructive manner to increase mutual understanding, narrow differencesand make best use of our cooperation potentials. We should work to makesure such differences do not hinder bilateral relations.
Anumber of recent critics on the human rights in Vietnam are biased andgroundless. I really hope that you will visit our country morefrequently so that you can have a more objective and comprehensive viewof Vietnam. You will see for yourself our efforts and accomplishments inensuring and promoting human rights.
Question 8 : Whatmajor challenges is facing Vietnam’s economy at present and whichpolicies will Vietnam pursue to promote its economic growth? What is theprospect for the Vietnamese economy in the time ahead? Is Vietnam readyfor the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement?
Answer :After 30 years of reform, Vietnam has recorded tremendous socio-economicachievements. Vietnam has been able to rise from a less developedcountry with a closed economy to a middle income country with a moredynamic and globally integrated economy. However, looking back on thepast development, Vietnam's economic development is still unsustainableand competitiveness remains low. Becoming a middle-income country alsoposes challenges, such as how to avoid falling into the "middle incometrap" and how to create a fast-growing and sustainable economy whileensuring social equality and progress, environmental friendlydevelopment. At the same time, Vietnam is still faced with a number ofexternal challenges, such as impacts from the global financial andmonetary crisis, fierce competition in the world market or increasingconnectivity in the Asia - Pacific. Only with internal strength can wehandle external challenges and turn them into opportunities.
Tothat end, as indicated in the Social Economic Development Strategy till2020, Vietnam is determined to promote a comprehensive reform withthree strategic breakthroughs namely, completion of the market economicinstitutions, development of human resources and modernization ofinfrastructure in order to unleash the full potential of the country.
Regardingthe Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), I think TPP is a large-scaleagreement with the participation of key economies in the region and theworld. TPP also covers many new-generation trade issues with higherlevel of commitments than other trade agreements Vietnam has concluded.However, given our thorough preparations, we have full confidence inparticipating successfully in this important process. In fact, we areworking with the United States and other members in an effort toconclude negotiations in the earliest time possible.
Weare aware that as a developing country with a lower level of developmentcompared to other partner countries in the TPP, Vietnam needs to makegreater efforts to improve the legal system, investment policies andprocedures in order to create a business environment more conducive toforeign investment, helping accelerate the process of economicrestructuring towards increasing added value, quality and efficiency ofeconomic growth.-VNA
The following is the translated version of the interview.
Question 1 : Vietnam and the US have just marked 40 years since the endof the war and are to celebrate the 20th anniversary of theirdiplomatic relationship. What is your assessment about the Vietnam-USties? What are the challenges to the relations between the twocountries, and what can the US do to improve the relations?
Answer:I believe that the Vietnamese and American people and the entireprogressive mankind aspire to peace and wish to live in peace. No onewants wars. Unfortunately, the history of Vietnam – US relations had agloomy chapter, leaving behind heavy legacies in both nations. Time hasshown us that above all is our burning desire for peace and aflourishing friendship and cooperation between us, and the two countrieshave managed to “put the past behind, rise over differences, maximizesimilarities and head to a brighter future”.
Forty-yearsafter the war and 20 years after normalization, from former enemies,Vietnam and the US have now become friends and actively engaged inComprehensive Partnership since 2013. This is really a long stride thatfew could imagine 20 years ago.
In 1995, the two sidescooperated with each other mainly in searching for Missing In Action(MIA) soldiers. Now, it has been expanded to all areas, politically,diplomatically, in economic and trade, culture and education, scienceand technology, security and defence, and people-to-people exchange.Among South East Asian countries, Vietnam has the largest number ofstudents studying in the US. Trade value between our two countries inthe last 20 years increases 130-folds. Our two countries are now joiningother countries in negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement(TPP), which is of strategic importance to regional economiccooperation. In addition to our bilateral efforts, we have strengthenedcooperation on regional and global issues such as non-proliferation,anti-terrorism, climate change response, food and water security, UN PKOwith a view to contributing to peace, stability, cooperation anddevelopment in the Asia Pacific and beyond.
Our leadershave visited each other or met at the sideline of regional andinternational forums on a regular basis. This helps build mutual trustand create more opportunities to discuss ways and means to enhancebilateral relations. My visit to the US this time has no other purposethan that and it is expected that President Obama’s visit to Vietnamwould be made later this year.
Like in any relationsbetween two countries in the world, Vietnam and the US have differenceson a number of issues such as perception on democracy, human rights andtrade. To resolve differences, I believe the most effective way would beopen and constructive dialogues to better understand each other so thatdifferences won’t become hurdles to the overall bilateral relations.
Question 2 : Your official visit to the US is a historic visit. What are the specific objectives of the visit?
Answer:This is the first ever visit to the US by a General Secretary of theCommunist Party of Vietnam at the invitation of the US administration asthe two sides are celebrating the 20 th anniversary of diplomaticrelations. It is a good opportunity for us to review the past, exchangeviews on a vision of “future outlook” and work together for long-termfriendship and cooperation based on mutual respect and respect for eachother’s political regime. This will benefit our people and contribute topeace, stability, cooperation and prosperity in the region and theworld.
I would like to reiterate to the US Government,Congress and people our consistent foreign policy of independence,self-reliance, diversification and multilateralization of externalrelations and active international integration. Vietnam would like to bea friend and reliable partner of all countries in the world. In thiseffort, we attach great importance to the relations with the US as oneof the most important partners in our foreign policy.
Thisvisit will provide a chance to further deepen the ComprehensivePartnership between our two countries in all areas. Apart from bilateralcooperation, I hope to exchange views with the US leaders on along-term vision of regional and global issues of mutual concern such asthe situation in the Asia Pacific, TPP, climate change, regionalmechanisms for political, economic, security cooperation, maritimesecurity and safety with a view to maintaining peace, stability,security, cooperation and development in the region and the world.
Ihope that this is a chance for our two sides to have an open and frankdiscussion on issues where differences still exist. This would enhancemutual understanding, narrow the differences and gradually build uptrust between us to add more substance and efficiency to long-termrelations between our two countries.
Question 3: Will Vietnam persuade the US to fully lift the ban on lethal weapons sale?
Answer: Given the active and robust development in the ComprehensivePartnership between the two countries, Vietnam looks forward tostrengthening the multi-faceted cooperation, including security anddefense cooperation. The fact that US partially removed the Ban onLethal Weapons Sale to Vietnam and works to fully remove the Ban in thefuture is a strong testimony of our mutual trust, creating theconditions for us to deepen the Comprehensive Partnership and implementthe 2011 MOU on Vietnam – US Defense Cooperation and the 2015Declaration on Shared Vision of Vietnam and the US on DefenseCooperation.
Question 4: What role do you think the USplays and what can the US do to maintain stability in the Asian-Pacificregion in general and the East Sea in particular?
Answer:We believe that as one of the world's leading major powers and a memberof the UNSC P5, the US has a great interest and responsibility inmaintaining peace and stability in the world, particularly in theAsia-Pacific.
Vietnam welcomes the US policy to attachimportance to the promotion of multi-sided cooperation withAsia-Pacific. I believe that on the basis of mutual understanding andrespect, the US could further strengthen bilateral relations with eachcountry in this region, especially in such areas as economic and trade,science and technology, education and training, climate change response,etc. Cooperation in these areas will bring about concrete benefits tothe people, thereby creating a solid and long-lasting foundation forpeace and stability in the region.
With regard to the EastSea issue, I really appreciate the US' statements to support a peacefulapproach to settlement of disputes in accordance with internationallaw, especially the 1982 UNCLOS, the Declaration on the Conduct ofParties in the South China Sea (DOC) and efforts to reach a Code ofConduct (COC).
We are all aware of the strategic locationof the East Sea. About 50 percent of the world's shipping traffic passesthrough sea routes in this area. Therefore, maintaining peace,stability, maritime security and safety, freedom of navigation andaviation without changing the status quo, conducting militarization,imposing sea and air control in the East Sea is not only in the interestof any single country but the shared desire of all countries in theregion and beyond. I hope that the US will continue to have appropriatevoice and actions to contribute to peaceful settlement of disputes inthe East Sea in accordance with international law in order to ensurepeace and stability in the Asia-Pacific and the world.
Question5 : China and the US are major economic partners of Vietnam. At thesame time, both countries are working to increase their influence in theregion. What does Vietnam do in this situation?
Answer:China and the US are both major powers in the Asia-Pacific and theglobal stage. Evidently, they will have important roles and significantinfluences in the region. Reality shows that major powers will bewelcomed by the international community if they act in accordance withinternational law without affecting legitimate interests of othercountries and if they make active and constructive contributions to thepeace, stability, cooperation and development in the region.
Currently,the US and China are both leading economic partners of Vietnam.Therefore, promoting friendship and mutually beneficial cooperation withboth the US and China is one of the top priorities in our foreignpolicy. In addition, like other countries in the region, Vietnam hopesthat the US-China relations would grow steadily and that is in theinterest of peace, stability and cooperation in the region.
Question6 : What do you expect from the National Congress of the CommunistParty of Vietnam slated for next year? What should the Party do toaddress the issue of corruption which is undermining the public’s trustin the Party?
Answer: The 12th National Congress of theCommunist Party of Vietnam is of great importance to our country. TheCongress will review the implementation of the 11 th Congress Resolution(2011-2015), look back on the path of 30-year reform and put forthmajor guidelines and policies in all areas in the next 5 years in orderto further accelerate the comprehensive reform, defend the independenceand territorial integrity of the Fatherland, firmly maintain theenvironment of peace and stability for national development, improve thepeople’s life, build rule-of-law and socialist state of the people, bythe people and for the people, enhance the country’s position,proactively integrate into the world, strive to build Vietnam into amodern and industrial nation.
To strengthen thecredibility and leadership of the Communist Party and the governance ofthe Vietnamese state, it is our policy to step up the struggle againstcorruption, considering this one of important tasks. During the lastyears, our anti-corruption efforts have produced positive outcomes andwon the support of the people. However, we are not complacent. We willbe determined to make greater efforts to complete this important task.
Question 7 : One of the obstacles to Vietnam-US is theissue of human rights. What is your opinion about criticism that thereare no freedom of press and basic freedoms in Vietnam and the country’shuman rights record is worsening in recent years?
Answer:In the very first lines of the Declaration of Independence thatPresident Ho Chi Minh read 70 years ago, he quoted the AmericanDeclaration of Independence and the French Declaration of the Rights ofMan and of the Citizen. Respecting and struggling for human rights arean aspiration of the Vietnamese people and the goal of the CommunistParty. I believe that it is also the common aspiration of humanity andthe common objective of all progressive regimes in the world.
Inreality, after 30 years of Reform, the rights of the Vietnamese peopleare now better ensured by the State of Vietnam. This has beeninstitutionalized in the Constitution and legal system of Vietnam andelaborated in different policies and measures for implementation fromthe central to local levels. Through such efforts, Vietnam has been ableto make many achievements in ensuring human rights in all civil,political, economic, cultural and social areas. This effort wasrecognized and appreciated by the international community, which isevidenced by Vietnam’s election to the UN Human Rights Council 2014-2016by vast majority vote. Other countries also appreciate Vietnam'sefforts to protect and promote human rights in our country as well asour active contributions to the international community. Nonetheless,much needs to be done to better ensure the rights of the Vietnamesepeople.
It is true that there remain differentunderstanding between the US and Vietnam with respect to the issue ofhuman rights. We should maintain dialogues in an open, candid andconstructive manner to increase mutual understanding, narrow differencesand make best use of our cooperation potentials. We should work to makesure such differences do not hinder bilateral relations.
Anumber of recent critics on the human rights in Vietnam are biased andgroundless. I really hope that you will visit our country morefrequently so that you can have a more objective and comprehensive viewof Vietnam. You will see for yourself our efforts and accomplishments inensuring and promoting human rights.
Question 8 : Whatmajor challenges is facing Vietnam’s economy at present and whichpolicies will Vietnam pursue to promote its economic growth? What is theprospect for the Vietnamese economy in the time ahead? Is Vietnam readyfor the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement?
Answer :After 30 years of reform, Vietnam has recorded tremendous socio-economicachievements. Vietnam has been able to rise from a less developedcountry with a closed economy to a middle income country with a moredynamic and globally integrated economy. However, looking back on thepast development, Vietnam's economic development is still unsustainableand competitiveness remains low. Becoming a middle-income country alsoposes challenges, such as how to avoid falling into the "middle incometrap" and how to create a fast-growing and sustainable economy whileensuring social equality and progress, environmental friendlydevelopment. At the same time, Vietnam is still faced with a number ofexternal challenges, such as impacts from the global financial andmonetary crisis, fierce competition in the world market or increasingconnectivity in the Asia - Pacific. Only with internal strength can wehandle external challenges and turn them into opportunities.
Tothat end, as indicated in the Social Economic Development Strategy till2020, Vietnam is determined to promote a comprehensive reform withthree strategic breakthroughs namely, completion of the market economicinstitutions, development of human resources and modernization ofinfrastructure in order to unleash the full potential of the country.
Regardingthe Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), I think TPP is a large-scaleagreement with the participation of key economies in the region and theworld. TPP also covers many new-generation trade issues with higherlevel of commitments than other trade agreements Vietnam has concluded.However, given our thorough preparations, we have full confidence inparticipating successfully in this important process. In fact, we areworking with the United States and other members in an effort toconclude negotiations in the earliest time possible.
Weare aware that as a developing country with a lower level of developmentcompared to other partner countries in the TPP, Vietnam needs to makegreater efforts to improve the legal system, investment policies andprocedures in order to create a business environment more conducive toforeign investment, helping accelerate the process of economicrestructuring towards increasing added value, quality and efficiency ofeconomic growth.-VNA
