US diplomats confirm "partners and friends" relationship with Vietnam

The US and Vietnam have become partners and friends in every sense of the word, working together on security, business, economic, people-to-people, health, environment, and energy ties, according to US Ambassador to Vietnam Daniel Kritenbrink.

The US and Vietnam have become partners and friends in every sense of the word, working together on security, business, economic, people-to-people, health, environment, and energy ties, according to US Ambassador to Vietnam Daniel Kritenbrink.

Addressing a meeting held on Friday to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the US Consulate General Ho Chi Minh City, Kritenbrink stressed that the Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City has played an important role in creating the strong bilateral relationship between the two countries.

U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Daniel Kritenbrink, Standing Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Le Thanh Liem, and director of the local Department of External Relations, Le Quang Long at the event. Photo from the US Consul General to Ho Chi Minh City

"They’re working together with our Vietnamese government partners to address the legacies of war, including through dioxin remediation at Bien Hoa airbase," he said. "They play a major role in moving us towards healing the lingering wounds of war through reconciliation activities, including Vietnamese military cemetery restoration and visits. They facilitate the travel of tens of thousands of Vietnamese citizens to the United States for business, tourism, education, and to visit their families."

Speaking at the event which was attended by Standing Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Le Thanh Liem and other local officials, US Consul General to Ho Chi Minh City Marie Damour, expressed thanks for the hard work of colleagues, both American and Vietnamese. She pointed to the Consulate’s American Centre where the event took place as “a symbol of the partnership between the United States and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – a new, modern partnership, rooted in the past but looking optimistically towards the future.”

US Consul General to Ho Chi Minh City Marie Damour speaks at the meeting. Photo from the US Consul General to Ho Chi Minh City

"The transformation of our bilateral relationship is nothing short of remarkable," the newly-appointed US Consul General to Ho Chi Minh City said. "When I was here last, our annual bilateral trade was less than USD500 million. It is now over USD60 billion. Back then, there were fewer than 1,000 Vietnamese students at American universities. Now there are over 30,000 Vietnamese students studying in the United States."

The Consulate’s September 7, 1999 opening marked an important step forward in the US-Vietnamese bilateral relationship following the two countries’ normalisation of diplomatic relations in 1995.