Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed bilateral relations as well as regional and international issues of shared concern during their phone talks on May 28.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son holds phone talks with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on May 28 (Photo: VNA)

Son congratulated Blinken on the US’s recent successes in curbing the COVID-19 pandemic and initially recovering the economy and thanked the US Government for practically assisting Vietnam in the coronavirus combat, especially in accessing vaccines.

He highly valued Blinken's significant contributions to bilateral relations, expressing his readiness to cooperate closely with the official to further promote the Viet Nam - US comprehensive partnership.

Vietnam will continue making efforts to achieve stable and harmonious trade ties with the US, and it hopes that the US will soon conclude the investigations related to the Vietnamese currency issue under Section 301, he said.

The minister also spoke highly of the US Government’s investment commitments to the Fulbright University Vietnam (FUV) so as to turn the FUV into a leading centre for training high-quality human resources for not only Vietnam but also the entire region.

For his part, Blinken highlighted his country’s support for a strong, independent, and prosperous Vietnam, noting that the US Department of State will work with relevant agencies to continue bringing the Viet Nam - US relations to a new height.

Speaking highly of Viet Nam’s successes in coping with COVID-19, he said the US will keep assisting countries, including Viet Nam, to access vaccines via the COVAX Facility and partner nations.

He also congratulated the Southeast Asian country on successfully taking over the chairmanship of ASEAN in 2020, and pledged continued support for Viet Nam to fulfill its non-permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council for 2020 - 2021.

The US attaches importance to and supports ASEAN’s centrality in the region and the Mekong - US partnership, Blinken said, adding that it wants both sides to continue enhancing coordination in the issues of common concern at regional and international mechanisms, thereby helping to consolidate peace, stability, cooperation, and development in the Asia-Pacific region and the world as a whole.

During the talks, the two ministers shared the view that the Viet Nam - US relations are growing well in various areas, based on their respect for each other’s independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, political regimes, and mutual benefits.

They agreed to continue strengthening collaboration so as to help further expand and intensify bilateral relations, with a focus on economic - trade - investment links, settlement of war consequences, maritime capacity building, science - technology, education - training, COVID-19 prevention and control, climate change response, and environmental protection.

Source: VNA