US Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo (Photo: AFP/VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – US Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo has issued astatement on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relationsbetween Vietnam and the United States (1995-2020), according to the US Embassyin Vietnam.
“July 11 marks the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomaticrelations between the United States and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,” he saidin his statement.
“Over the last quarter century, our two countries have built a partnership andfriendship founded on shared interests, mutual respect, and people-to-peopleties. Our everyday interactions arehighlighted by increasing trade and investment ties, strategic cooperation, andcollaboration on humanitarian and legacy of war issues, including the solemnduty of accounting for our wartime missing.”
In recent years, he said, the two countries have strengthened and expanded the ComprehensivePartnership, based on a shared vision of a stable and peaceful Indo-Pacificregion, as well as respect for each other’s independence, sovereignty,territorial integrity, and political systems.
The US commends Vietnam for its outstanding Chairmanship of ASEAN this year,especially in coordinating ASEAN’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and issuesrelated to economic recovery, he added.
Pompeostressed the ties between the American and Vietnamese peoples grow deeper everyyear. America’s vibrant and engaged Vietnamese-American community makes ourcountry strong and prosperous.
The US values the cross-cultural role played by the nearly 30,000 Vietnamesestudents studying in the United States and more than 1,200 Americans studyingin Vietnam annually, he said, adding “we look forward to Fulbright UniversityVietnam graduating its first class of undergraduates in 2023.”
“We also look forward to the imminent conclusion of an agreement that willbring Peace Corps volunteers to Vietnam for the first time ever, fostering strongerties between our peoples,” he said.
The US is committed to making the next 25 years of bilateral ties a model ofinternational cooperation and partnership, the Secretary affirmed./.
VNA
