25-7-2023 (HANOI) As the 10th anniversary of the Vietnam-U.S. comprehensive partnership approaches (July 25, 2013 – 2023), Vietnamese Ambassador to the U.S., Nguyen Quoc Dung, expressed confidence that the relationship between the two nations will continue to soar to new heights, benefiting their people and contributing to regional and global development.
In an interview with the Vietnam News Agency, Ambassador Dung highlighted the past decade’s remarkable growth in bilateral ties, spanning various sectors such as politics, diplomacy, trade and economy, culture, education, science and technology, healthcare, defense-security, and people-to-people exchanges. This substantial progress truly embodies the essence of a comprehensive partnership.
In the political and diplomatic sphere, the relationship has witnessed a significant improvement in mutual understanding and respect. Both Vietnam and the U.S. have demonstrated reverence for each other’s independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, and political systems. High-level exchanges and regular contacts between the two countries have further cemented these positive strides.
The economic and trade aspect stands out as the fastest and most robust pillar, acting as the driving force behind the overall partnership. Bilateral trade has surged more than fivefold from $25 billion in 2012 to nearly $139 billion in 2022. Vietnam now ranks as the seventh-largest trading partner of the U.S. on a global scale.
People-to-people exchanges have also flourished, with an impressive number of Vietnamese students studying in the U.S., reaching around 23,000 to 25,000 annually, ranking first in Southeast Asia and fifth worldwide. Additionally, Vietnam has consistently welcomed a significant number of U.S. tourists, with an average of 800,000 arrivals each year before the Covid-19 pandemic, making the U.S. one of the top five sources of visitors to the Southeast Asian nation.
Ambassador Dung emphasized that addressing the aftermath of the war remains a top priority, and both countries have achieved notable results in this regard. They have dedicated considerable resources and efforts to initiatives such as the search for and identification of fallen Vietnamese soldiers’ remains, dioxin detoxification efforts (completed at Da Nang airport and ongoing at Bien Hoa airport), and bomb and mine clearance. Moreover, there is a focus on supporting people with disabilities and those affected by dioxin/Agent Orange. The cooperation between Vietnamese agencies and the U.S. has resulted in the search, identification, and repatriation of the remains of 733 missing U.S. soldiers.
Looking ahead, Ambassador Dung outlined five key areas to further strengthen the comprehensive partnership:
- Reinforcing mutual understanding through increased exchanges at all levels, especially high-level engagements, and enhancing the effectiveness of existing dialogue mechanisms.
- Developing stable, sustainable economic, trade, investment, and scientific and technological relations while minimizing trade defense actions. The focus should be on cooperation in emerging and high-tech areas, such as the digital economy, green economy, circular economy, and ensuring the sustainability of supply chains.
- Emphasizing cultural and artistic exchanges, along with education and training aligned with Vietnam’s need for high-quality human resource development. Attracting more U.S. tourists to Vietnam and providing support to Vietnamese and Vietnamese-origin people in the U.S. are equally important.
- Accelerating cooperation in addressing the consequences of war, recognizing that as time passes, the challenges for remediation become more complex.
- Enhancing effective collaboration at multilateral forums, particularly within the ASEAN – U.S. comprehensive strategic partnership and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). Moreover, the two nations should unite to address global issues, especially emerging ones such as the environment, climate change response, and clean energy transition.
