Dantri/Dtinews Editor-in-Chief Pham Tuan Anh presents flowers to US ambassador to Vietnam Marc Knapper, former Vietnamese ambassador to the US Pham Quang Vinh (first from left), and Deputy Regional Managing Director of the US-ASEAN Business Council Vu Tu Thanh (first from right).
The US ambassador used the words optimism, respect, and strategic when describing the relations between Vietnam and the US over the past 10 years.
“I think the last 10 years have reflected optimism in terms of both of our countries, by our government and peoples,”he said. “There is an optimism and the ability of our two countries to build an even stronger relationship going forwards.”
He also stressed that based on respect for each other's sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence and each other's political system, the two countries have been able to grow the relationship over the last 10 years. He said the relationship was fundamentally strategic in nature.
According to the ambassador, the comprehensive partnership over the last almost 10 years, had yielded trade to the tune of USD111 billion. Vietnam and the US are now co-operating on security, law enforcement, education, science, technology, culture, health and space co-operation.
He talked about some challenges such as the global pandemic, climate change, and the conflict in Europe that faced both countries and noted that we were working very closely together to address.
Sharing his main priorities and expectations during his term as ambassador to Vietnam, he said he would love to see trading expanded, and the investment relationship and education co-operation improved.
“I want to see your science and technology relationship growing,” he said. “And then I'd like to see more energy co-operation like the great American companies that are in sustainable energy space, whether it's solar, whether it's wind, there are American companies that want to invest more here, but need access to clean energy.”
The US ambassador said that he was very optimistic to upgrade the relationship to another level.
“I just think raising the level of our partnership, would be a reflection of the kind of things we're already doing together,” he said. "These things are fundamentally strategic in nature when you surveyed said shared interests, shared goals, shared vision, shared sense of purpose. I'm feeling pretty optimistic.”
Talking about security and defence co-operation between the two countries, the ambassador said they had seen tremendous growth in the past few years and he expected it to continue to grow.
The ambassador also said he appreciated Vietnam's support in the US partnership with ASEAN. “Certainly we could not have done it without Vietnam’s support. So we're grateful for it,” he said.
Dantri/Dtinews Editor-in-Chief Pham Tuan Anh gives the US ambassador to Vietnam a panting by a student at Hai Ly Primary School in Nam Dinh Province. The school was built with US funding in 2021.
Speaking at the talk, former Vietnamese ambassador to the US Pham Quang Vinh recounted that his term began in 2014 when the two countries had just established a strategic partnership and there were many co-operation opportunities.
"The two countries made USD36 billion in two-way trade revenues in 2014 when I started my term,' he said. "And when my term ended in July 2018, the figure had reached USD 66 billion."
Vinh said relations saw further developments when Communist Party of Vietnam General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong paid an official visit to the US following an invitation from US President Barack Obama on the 20th anniversary of the normalisation of relations in 2015.
Deputy Regional Managing Director of the US-ASEAN Business Council, Vu Tu Thanh, said that Vietnam and the US enjoyed robust growth in trade relations and economic developments over the past 10 years.
"They were among the world's fastest and most sustainable developments in the past 10 years," he noted. "Vietnam and the US made only USD 25 billion in two-way trade revenues in 2013. The figures steadily rose around 20 percent annually to USD 36 billion in 2014, USD 66 billion in 2018. And the figures continued to increase by 20 percent in 2020, 2021, and the first half of 2022. These were impressive developments."