Vietnam attaches great importance to its relations with the US and wishes to continue strengthening their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for the benefit of the two countries' people and for peace, cooperation and development in the region and the world, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said on January 10 while receiving outgoing US Ambassador to Vietnam Marc Knapper.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (R) receives outgoing US Ambassador to Vietnam Marc Knapper in Hanoi on January 10.

At the meeting, the Government leader highly appreciated the close coordination from Knapper and the US Embassy, which contributed to major milestones in bilateral relations over the past four years, particularly the upgrade of ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, laying a solid foundation for a new phase of development.

PM Chinh affirmed that Vietnam consistently pursues a foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, peace, friendship, cooperation, multilateralisation and diversification of external relations, while maintaining its defence policy of the “Four No's”.

He noted that in the time ahead, Vietnam and the US should continue to promote exchanges of delegations at all levels, thereby consolidating political trust and creating momentum to further enhance bilateral ties.

Emphasising that economic and trade cooperation is a key pillar of the relations, the PM commended his guest’s role in opening markets for both sides' goods and encouraging US businesses to step up investment and expand operations in Vietnam.

He proposed that the US strengthen cooperation with Vietnam in technology transfer and digital transformation, soon recognise its market economy status, and remove Vietnam from the lists of countries subject to restrictions on high-tech exports (D1 and D3).

The PM expressed his confidence that the two sides would soon conclude negotiations on a reciprocal, fair and balanced trade agreement, helping to create a stable business environment and deliver tangible benefits for their business communities.

He also underlined the special significance and importance of cooperation in addressing war legacy issues, which helps build trust, promote reconciliation and enhance mutual understanding. He acknowledged Knapper’s persistent efforts in this area and called for continued cooperation.

On international and regional issues of shared concern, PM Chinh stressed the need to uphold the UN Charter and international law, and to resolve disputes by peaceful means.

He urged the US to continue supporting ASEAN’s stance on regional issues, as well as efforts to maintain peace, stability, security, safety and freedom of navigation and overflight in the region in accordance with international law.

For his part, Knapper expressed his pleasure at witnessing the increasingly substantive and comprehensive development of bilateral relations across all fields, describing them as a model in international relations. He thanked PM Chinh for his support for the advancement of Vietnam-US ties.

The ambassador agreed that the two sides should further expand cooperation in key areas such as political and diplomatic relations, security and defence, trade and investment, energy, humanitarian cooperation and war legacy remediation, science and technology, and the training of high-quality human resources.

He expressed his confidence that the Vietnam-US Comprehensive Strategic Partnership would continue to grow strongly, and affirmed in whatever capacity, he would remain a friend of Vietnam and continue contributing to bilateral relations.

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