Vietnam, US advance comprehensive partnership
The US State Secretary John Kerry in Vietnam
(VOVworld) – US State Secretary John Kerry and Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh chaired a press briefing on Monday following a talk that was part of Kerry’s visit to Vietnam.
Minh said both leaders sat down to discuss bilateral and multilateral cooperation in a frank manner. They expressed their satisfaction with the practical development of Vietnam-US ties, especially since the two nations established a comprehensive partnership following President Truong Tan Sang’s visit in July. Deputy Prime Minister Minh said: “We have discussed a number of measures to continue to develop the Vietnam-US relations in all fields. We agreed that both countries will increase the exchange of delegations at all levels, maintain the existing dialogue mechanisms, and boost cooperation in trade and investment. The two sides also reached consensus on strengthening cooperation in science and technology with focus on soon signing a cooperative agreement in civil nuclear energy. ”
State Secretary Kerry reiterated the Obama administration’s Southeast Asian foreign policy which affirms Vietnam as an important partner of the US in the region. He highlighted priority areas in cooperation with Vietnam including people-to-people exchange, environment, and climate change, regional security, and particularly trade and investment. Kerry said: “Trade is perhaps the clearest example that our nations have come in the 18 years since we normalized the relations. Two-way trade between the United States and Vietnam has increased since 1995 more than 50 fold. Once finalized, TPP will raise standards including labor standards, open markets up. It will also create millions of new jobs not just in the United States and Vietnam but through out the Asia Pacific. We are working very closely with Vietnam and other regional partners in order to complete the TPP as quickly as possible.”
On this occasion, the US Agency for International Development signed an agreement to evaluate environmental impacts and handle dioxin hotspots in Bien Hoa airport. UNICEF and the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs inked a memorandum of understanding to surmount the consequences of bombs, mines, and unexploded ordnance.