Obama will become the third consecutive President of the US to visit Vietnam, following trips in 2000 by President Bill Clinton and 2006 by President George W.Bush. 
The US President Barack Obama
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Vietnam - US relations have gained a number of positive achievements over recent years. Since the two nations established the Comprehensive Partnership, the two sides have achieved success in all fields, including bilateral and multi-lateral cooperation.
Putting the past behind and looking towards the future is the policy that Vietnam and the US have pursued over the past 20 years since the two nations formally declared normalisation of bilateral relations in 1995 and after over 40 years since war ended in Vietnam in 1975. Particularly, after elevating the relations to a comprehensive partnership, the cooperation between the two countries have been expanded across security-defence, education, science-technology, and climate change adaptation.
Vietnam and the US are now reliable partners on Asia-Pacific and global issues. The two sides are closely working with partners from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, the East Asia Summit (EAS) and the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) for the sake of regional peace, security and prosperity, including navigational security and freedom in the East Sea, and the security of water resources and sustainable development in the lower part of the Mekong River.
A series of matters are scheduled to be under discussion during Obama’s trip to Vietnam such as the TPP, the removal of the lethal arms embargo on Vietnam, and the settlement of war consequences and detoxification of Agent Orange/Dioxin, as well as collaboration in economics-trade and security-defence.
On the threshold of the visit, the US New York Times commented that President Obama will focus on the future rather than the past to deepen the security and economic ties with Vietnam – an increasingly important regional player. US Secretary of State John Kerry also sent optimistic messages on this visit. Undergoing a lot of ups and downs, Vietnam and the US are standing on new opportunities to enhance the bilateral relations in the light of regional and global changes. Obama’s visit to Vietnam is hoped to be a foundation and catalyst to drive the rapport forward.
High-level delegation exchanges within the recent two years included General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong’s official visit to the US and the signing ceremony of the Joint Declaration on Vision of the Viet Nam-US Relationship, former State President Truong Tan Sang’s participation at the United Nations Summit for the adoption of the post-2015 development agenda in New York in September 2015 and former PM Nguyen Tan Dung’s visit to the US to join the ASEAN-US Summit in February 2016. During former Minister of Public Security Tran Dai Quang’s official visit to the US in March 2015, the two sides inked agreements to strengthen cooperation in security and law enforcement.
The two nations have enhanced cooperation at regional forums, addressed issues related to maritime security and the East Sea, highlighted the central role of ASEAN and launched ASEAN-US Strategic Partnership. Vietnam and the US have a shared commitment to improving security in the Asia-Pacific region in accordance with international law, he said, adding that the US side hopes for further collaboration in numerous areas from humanitarian assistance and disaster relief to peacekeeping and maritime security.
