Vietnamese Ambassador to US visits Maryland state

Washington DC (VNA) - Vietnamese Ambassador to the US Nguyen Quoc Dung has visted the US Naval Academy (USNA) in Annapolis city of Maryland state at the invitation of US Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro.

In his working session with the Vietnamese diplomat, Del Toro affirmed the US's strong commitment to maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific region, in which Vietnam plays an important role

Ambassador Dung expressed his joy with the growing Vietnam - US relationship, especially collaboration in overcoming post-war consequences, saying that this has contributed to peace and stability in the region.

Following their working session, they visited the USNA’s facilities and laid a wreath in tribute to late US Senator John McCain.

Ambassador Dung also had a meeting with Mayor of Annapolis Gavin Buckley during which the diplomat proposed maintaining exchanges between the Annapolis authority and  the Vietnamese embassy to seek opportunities for cooperation, including cooperation between Annapolis and localities of Vietnam.

Mayor briefed the guest on the history and culture of Annapolis as well as its strengths and future development orientation, including tourism, biomedical technology, and efforts to respond to impacts of climate change, sea level rise and urbanisation.

The Vietnamese diplomat said problems that Annapolis is dealing with are similar to many historical cities in Vietnam, suggesting the municipal authority maintain exchange with the Vietnamese Embassy to the US to seek opportunities for cooperation, including exchange and cooperation between Annapolis and localities of Vietnam.

On the occasion, Ambassador Dung visited the Annapolis International Club and talked with the club's 200 members who are American veterans, government employees and businessmen. The diplomat introduced Vietnam's important socio-economic achievements, and its potential and foreign policy. He also highlighted the fruitful development of the bilateral relations after 28 years of the normalisation.

Located to the north of Washington DC, Maryland is home to 350 biotechnology companies, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), thr Human Genome Sciences (HGS), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)./.