Vietnamese Ambassador to the US Ha Kim Ngoc. (Photo: VNA)Washington (VNA) - Vietnam-US relations have reached a level in both scope andscale that no one could have imagined 25 years ago, Vietnamese Ambassador tothe US Ha Kim Ngoc said in an interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency onthe occasion of the 25th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties (July 12).
Twenty-fiveyears is not an overly-long time but bilateral ties have nonetheless producedimpressive achievements, the ambassador said, with remarkable progress seen notonly in politics and diplomacy but also in such areas as economics, trade,investment, security, defence, education, culture, people-to-people exchanges,and science and technology.
Partnershipsin economics, trade, and investment have become a primary driver of the developmentof bilateral relations over the last 25 years, he said, adding two-way trade rosemore than 170 times, from 450 million USD in 1995 to 77.6 billion USD lastyear.
The US isnow Vietnam’s largest importer while Vietnam remains the US’s fastest-growingmarket in Southeast Asia. Despite the strong adverse impact of the COVID-19pandemic, bilateral trade rose nearly 10 percent in the first half of thisyear.
The two countrieshave also made solid progress in security and defence cooperation, not only inaddressing the consequences of the war but also in military medical training,humanitarian relief, disaster assistance, and peacekeeping efforts.
For thefirst time, the US Government has provided funding, via the US Department ofDefense, for Vietnam’s efforts to search for its soldiers missing in actionduring the war. US aircraft carriers, meanwhile, have made two official visitsto Vietnam, in March 2018 and March 2020.
The twosides have also expanded security cooperation in information sharing and capacitybuilding in regard to counter-terrorism, cyber security, and water security, thediplomat added.
Vietnamand the US are now actively collaborating in responding to the coronavirus andrecovering their economies in the post-pandemic time, he said.
Ngoc addedthat the development of Vietnam-US relations is not only meaningful to bothcountries but also contributes positively to maintaining peace, stability,cooperation, and the rule of law in the Indo-Pacific and the world at large.
The twohave been active in working together to address regional and global issues,such as the East Sea, the Mekong River, and the Korean Peninsula, andcooperated at multilateral forums, including ASEAN and APEC.
The cooperationhas been even more evident this year, with Vietnam assuming the ASEAN Chairmanshipand a non-permanent seat at the UN Security Council (UNSC), he noted.
As the ASEANChair, Vietnam has fostered medical cooperation between ASEAN and the US in theface of COVID-19, with a focus on information and experience sharing andcapacity building in fighting the virus.
One ofthe two sides’ top priorities at the moment is to maintain the positiveprogress made in bilateral economic, trade, and investment partnerships to supportthe recovery of the two economies, he said, adding that the shift in globalsupply chains caused by the pandemic will create good opportunities for the twoto take firmer steps forward in investment cooperation.
The VietnameseGovernment is committed to further improving the country’s business climate andfacilitating US companies doing business in the country, to make the US one ofVietnam’s largest investors.
Theambassador pointed to the political will and the strong support from both sidesto the further deepening of the Vietnam – US cooperation as an advantage forfurther advancing the current relationship.
There isplenty of room for Vietnam and the US to expand cooperation, particularly locality-to-localitypartnerships as well as in science and technology, responses tonon-conventional security challenges, and addressing regional and internationalissues, he said.
The Ambassadorsuggested the two countries continue to coordinate in maintaining peace,stability, security, and the rule of law; promoting the peaceful settlement ofdisputes in the East Sea and the Asia-Pacific; addressing the consequences ofCOVID-19 to revive the two economies and bilateral trade; and resolving any outstandingissues./.
VNA
