Fifteen years ago, US President Bill Clinton’s announcement on thenormalisation of US ties with Vietnam opened a new chapter in the twocountries’ relationship, said the Vietnamese Ambassador to the US.
LeCong Phung was speaking at a reception marking the 15 th anniversaryof the normalisation of the Vietnam-US diplomatic ties jointly hosted bythe Vietnamese Embassy in the US and the US Department of State inWashington on the morning of July 15 ( Vietnam time).
Thefunction saw the attendance of former US President Bill Clinton,Senators John Kerry and John McCain, and House of Representatives memberEni Faleomavagea.
The Vietnamese ambassador expressed thanks tothe participants and other US congressmen for supporting US-Vietnamties.
He affirmed that gains in the bilateral relationshipreflected the determination and will of the two countries’ leaders andpeople to boost the ties further.
“Although short, the past 15years laid a firm foundation for the bilateral relationship in thefuture,” Phung said.
He affirmed that the development ofVietnam-US ties serves the interests of the two nations and theirpeople, contributes actively to peace, stability, prosperity andsecurity of the region and the world, and also helps solve importantissues facing the international community.
Addressing the event,former President Clinton recalled the time from 1993 when he took officeto 1995 when the two countries officially established diplomatic ties.
Healso recalled his meetings with Vietnamese leaders, especially hisvisit to Vietnam in 2000, and reviewed developments in the twocountries’ relationship in various fields.
The former presidenttook this occasion to thank the two governments for helping himestablish the Clinton Foundation to support people living with HIV/AIDSin Vietnam .
As an enthusiastic supporter of the normalisationwho has made a significant contribution to boosting the US-Vietnamties, Senator John Kerry recalled efforts made by the two governmentsduring the past two decades towards normalising ties.
Hedescribed Vietnam ’s cooperation in the search for US servicemenmissing in action during the Vietnam War, prior to and since the twocountries normalised ties, as an important factor in bilateralrelations.
The senator said he had a profound impression oflooking back through the entire history of US-Vietnam ties andcongratulated Vietnam on successes it has recorded in the renewalprocess.
He noted that for the American people, Vietnam ispresently not a war, but a country and a friend.
Addressing thefunction, Senator John McCain said the two countries’ relations havegrown strongly and profoundly during the past 15 years, affirming thatVietnam has become one of the US ’s most important and promisingtrading partners in the Asia-Pacific.
Noting the 30-fold rise inthe two countries’ trade value in 2009 over 1995, Senator McCain saidthis was just a starting point and expressed hope that the twocountries’ ties will advance further.
Representing the US StateDepartment at the event, Assistant to the Secretary of State KurtCampbell cast his mind back to the days when he was involved in thenormalisation process.
He said he thought the relationshipbetween Vietnam and the US has a lot of potential for growth./.
LeCong Phung was speaking at a reception marking the 15 th anniversaryof the normalisation of the Vietnam-US diplomatic ties jointly hosted bythe Vietnamese Embassy in the US and the US Department of State inWashington on the morning of July 15 ( Vietnam time).
Thefunction saw the attendance of former US President Bill Clinton,Senators John Kerry and John McCain, and House of Representatives memberEni Faleomavagea.
The Vietnamese ambassador expressed thanks tothe participants and other US congressmen for supporting US-Vietnamties.
He affirmed that gains in the bilateral relationshipreflected the determination and will of the two countries’ leaders andpeople to boost the ties further.
“Although short, the past 15years laid a firm foundation for the bilateral relationship in thefuture,” Phung said.
He affirmed that the development ofVietnam-US ties serves the interests of the two nations and theirpeople, contributes actively to peace, stability, prosperity andsecurity of the region and the world, and also helps solve importantissues facing the international community.
Addressing the event,former President Clinton recalled the time from 1993 when he took officeto 1995 when the two countries officially established diplomatic ties.
Healso recalled his meetings with Vietnamese leaders, especially hisvisit to Vietnam in 2000, and reviewed developments in the twocountries’ relationship in various fields.
The former presidenttook this occasion to thank the two governments for helping himestablish the Clinton Foundation to support people living with HIV/AIDSin Vietnam .
As an enthusiastic supporter of the normalisationwho has made a significant contribution to boosting the US-Vietnamties, Senator John Kerry recalled efforts made by the two governmentsduring the past two decades towards normalising ties.
Hedescribed Vietnam ’s cooperation in the search for US servicemenmissing in action during the Vietnam War, prior to and since the twocountries normalised ties, as an important factor in bilateralrelations.
The senator said he had a profound impression oflooking back through the entire history of US-Vietnam ties andcongratulated Vietnam on successes it has recorded in the renewalprocess.
He noted that for the American people, Vietnam ispresently not a war, but a country and a friend.
Addressing thefunction, Senator John McCain said the two countries’ relations havegrown strongly and profoundly during the past 15 years, affirming thatVietnam has become one of the US ’s most important and promisingtrading partners in the Asia-Pacific.
Noting the 30-fold rise inthe two countries’ trade value in 2009 over 1995, Senator McCain saidthis was just a starting point and expressed hope that the twocountries’ ties will advance further.
Representing the US StateDepartment at the event, Assistant to the Secretary of State KurtCampbell cast his mind back to the days when he was involved in thenormalisation process.
He said he thought the relationshipbetween Vietnam and the US has a lot of potential for growth./.
