After more than 20 years of the normalization of relations between the United States and Vietnam, the two countries have made progress in many aspects and the bilateral relationship “has never been better,” US Ambassador to Vietnam Daniel J. Kritenbrink has stated.
US Ambassador Kritenbrink and Vietnamese officials raise glasses at the ceremony. Photo: baoquocte.vn
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Bilateral trade jumped from nearly US$500 million in 1995 to around US$60 billion in 2018. Meanwhile, some 30 Vietnamese students are studying in the US, forming the fifth largest student community in that country.
The ambassador said during his 18 months as ambassador to Vietnam, President Trump has visited Vietnam twice, and Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc visited Washington in May 2017. “The United States supports the development of a strong, prosperous, and independent Vietnam, today and in the future,” he stressed.
He acknowledged that normalizing diplomatic relations represented a risk then. “Both our nations were lucky to have leaders with the wisdom to see what the future could hold, and also the courage to pursue a brighter future. Today’s generation benefits from those who have gone before us, and who took risks, not just in diplomacy, but also in trade, in economics, and in countless other fields,” he said.
Speaking at the ceremony on behalf of the Vietnamese government, Minister of Science and Technology Chu Ngoc Anh expressed his delight at the evolution of the Vietnam-US Comprehensive Partnership in all fields, including political and trade ties.
Minister of Science and Technology Chu Ngoc Anh speaks at the ceremony. Photo: baoquocte.vn
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Anh appreciated the US’s efforts to solve war legacy issues, with a program to support people with disabilities in Agent Orange-contaminated areas and the dioxin remediation project in Bien Hoa airbase, Dong Nai province.
As Vietnam takes over the chairmanship of ASEAN in 2020 and becomes a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council in the 2020-2021 period in January, the two nations will coordinate efforts to solve regional issues of mutual concern, for the sake of peace, stability and cooperation, Anh said.
