US Congressional Caucus on ASEAN supports stronger partnership with ASEAN, Vietnam
Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnamese Ambassador to the US Ha Kim Ngoc held an online talk on
April 29 (US time) with US Congressman Joaquin Castro of Texas, who is Vice Chairman of
the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Co-Chair of the Congressional Caucus on
ASEAN, on the Vietnam-US comprehensive partnership and the ASEAN-US
strategic partnership, including cooperation to cope with the COVID-19
pandemic.
During the talk, Ambassador Ngoc and Congressman Castro expressed their joy at
the strong development of the Vietnam-US comprehensive partnership in various fields.
Amid the complicated developments of the COVID-19 pandemic, the two countries
have worked closely together and supported each other both bilaterally and in
the ASEAN-US framework in epidemic prevention and preparations for economic
recovery, while continuing to promote economic, trade and investment ties.
The
two also touched upon the situation in the East Sea and the Mekong-US cooperation.
Ambassador
Ngoc informed the US congressman about the efforts of the Vietnamese Government
and people to perform the double tasks of fighting epidemic and restoring and
developing economy activities. He affirmed that at this time of difficulties,
ASEAN has remained united and unanimous, and effectively cooperated with
partners, including the US, in addressing the epidemic. He thanked the US for
its timely assistance for ASEAN countries, including Vietnam, at a time when
the US administration, congress and people are also working hard to respond to
the COVID-19 outbreak.
Castro
congratulated Vietnam for initially bringing the COVID-19 epidemic under
control, and appreciated Vietnam’s goodwill to support the US. He affirmed that
the ASEAN Caucus always advocates a strong ASEAN, and supports the US-ASEAN
strategic partnership and Vietnam’s ASEAN Chairmanship Year, including meetings
to be held in Vietnam.
Regarding
the East Sea issue, the congressman affirmed that the ASEAN Caucus and he
himself always protest acts that violate sovereignty, run counter to
international law and the rules-based order, change the status quo and cause
instability in the region. He voiced support for the elevation of the Lower
Mekong Initiative (LMI) to a Mekong-US Partnership for sustainable development
of the Mekong region.
The
talk between Ambassador Ngoc and Congressman Castro is among many online
meetings and talks that the Vietnamese Embassy in the US has conducted with the
US administration, Congress, scholars and business people during the period of
social distancing in the US, in order to maintain the development impetus of
the Vietnam-US relations during the year the two countries celebrate the 25th anniversary of their diplomatic relations (1995-2020)./.