Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc is making an official visit to the United States of America for the first time in his current role as head of government from May 29-31 at the invitation of US President Donald Trump.

This is the 1^st meeting held between a senior Vietnamese leader and President Donald Trump after the new Vietnamese leadership was elected and Donald Trump was elected president of the United States.

Viet Nam and the US formally established diplomatic relations in 1995.  The bilateral relationship has seen positive and substantive progress since the 2 countries established a comprehensive partnership in 2013.  The Viet Nam-US comprehensive partnership has been further strengthened in a more active, intensive and substantive manner by General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong’s historic visit to the US in July 2015, when the 2 countries signed a joint vision statement, and former US President Barrack Obama’s visit to Viet Nam in May 2016.  After President Donald Trump was elected, Viet Nam and the US have continued to hold exchanges, notably Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s telephone conversation with President Donald Trump.

Concerning economic cooperation, the US has become the largest market of Vietnamese exports since 2005.  Two-way trade has been growing at 20% on average in recent years, reaching US$53 billion in 2016.  The US is currently the 8^th largest foreign investor in Viet Nam, with more than US$10 billion in 815 projects, as of November 2016.  The US also ranks 9^th among 68 countries that receive Viet Nam’s foreign direct investment, with US$571 million in 147 projects.

Security and defence cooperation has also been maintained and strengthened.  Other areas of cooperation such as education and training, science and technology, tourism, healthcare, the environment, humanitarian cooperation and people-to-people exchange all see positive progress.  The 2 sides continue to hold frank and constructive dialogues on issues of difference while endeavouring to avoid having a negative effect on the bilateral relationship.

In multilateral cooperation, Viet Nam and the US have stepped up cooperation and collaboration at international and regional forums; strengthened and promoted the role of ASEAN while fostering ASEAN-US relations; and cooperated in global issues such as counter-terrorism, non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, climate change response, food security, energy and water resources.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s first official visit to the United States reflects Viet Nam’s foreign policy of peace, independence, self-reliance, cooperation and development; multilateralisation and diversification of international relations; and proactive and active international integration.  The visit affirms that Viet Nam attaches importance to fostering ties with the US and Viet Nam’s willingness to cooperate with President Donald Trump’s administration to build on existing achievements and further deepen Viet Nam-US relations on the basis of mutual respect for one another’s independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, political system and development path, for the sake of both countries, for peace, stability and developmental cooperation in the region and the world at large.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s visit is welcomed by members of the US Congress and business community.  The co-chairs of the US Congressional Caucus on ASEAN have issued statements welcoming the trip and confirming that they attach importance to furthering Viet Nam-US relations.

During the visit, which coincides with the 40^th anniversary of Viet Nam’s United Nations membership, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc will visit New York and meet UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.  Since Viet Nam joined the United Nations in 1977, the organisation has become a forum for Viet Nam to implement its foreign policy goals. Viet Nam has also proactively and actively participated in the UN’s activities and agendas. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s visit to the UN and meeting with its leadership affirms that Viet Nam attaches importance to the role of the world’s largest multilateral organisation and that Viet Nam is an active, responsible member of the UN and the international community, seeking to make active contributions to the goals of peace, stability and sustainable development.

May Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s visit to the US be successful, helping to further boost the Viet Nam-US comprehensive partnership in a more substantive, effective and sustainable manner; promoting cooperation between Viet Nam and the UN, contributing to peace, stability, cooperation, development and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region and the world at large.

(Source: NDO)