Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son receives Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, David R. Stilwell in Hanoi on December 18
Speaking at a launching event celebrating 25 years of the United States - Vietnam relations in Hanoi on Wednesday, the US official said that the two countries made a bold decision in 1995 to chart a new course together along a path toward the robust and constructive relationship.
“The fruits of the tireless dedication that went into nurturing our friendship are apparent everywhere I look in here in Vietnam,” he stressed.
In an interview with Dantri/DTinews the same day, the US Assistant Secretary of State also noted that the two countries had significant disagreements in the past but then realised that “the areas that we agreed were far more than the areas that we disagreed on."
Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, David R. Stilwell speaks with Dantri/Dtinews in Hanoi on December 18
“We decided that there were interests for both countries to reestablish relations,” he told Dan Tri. “And we agreed that both sides have benefited from our relation, and we should continue to grow. We should continue to look for areas that we can co-operate.”
The US official mentioned the signing of a land handover memorandum to initiate dioxin remediation at Bien Hoa Airbase, calling it a “ground-breaking milestone”.
He also recalled the two governments' conjunction in remediating approximately 90,000 cubic meters of contaminated soil at Danang Airport last year, in which over 30 hectares of airport land was made safe for use in ongoing airport expansion.
"Efforts like these highlight our countries’ shared vision to be honest about the past,deal responsibly with remaining legacy issues, and turn a point of contention into one of collaboration," he said. “Working together to resolve issues of the past builds strategic trust, and enables us to further strengthen our forward-looking partnership that advances shared interests and strong people-to-people ties.”
Talking about the trade relationship between the two countries, the US Assistant Secretary said that US businesses are investing more and more capital in Vietnam while Vietnamese producers are sending more of their goods to enthusiastic American consumers.
“Twenty-five years ago, our bilateral trade in goods was only USD450 million; today, we share USD60billion in bilateral trade,” he revealed.
Regarding to people-to-people ties, he cited a report as saying that in 1995, fewer than 60,000 Americans visited Vietnam each year. Today, nearly 700,000 Americans travel to Vietnam annually. More Vietnamese students are coming to study in the US. Vietnamese students currently constitute the sixth largest group of international students enrolled in American universities.
When being asked about military co-operation with Vietnam, the US official commented that “it has been productive in the last five years.”
“We've been co-operating in equipment and training,” he noted. “Peace and security matter a lot. If things become unstable, movement of resources will become more difficult, trade is affected, prosperity slows down. So we have to maintain security which is beneficial to trade.”
Talking about the Indo-Pacific strategy, he mentioned security, prosperity, governance, and human capital. “Regarding prosperity or economic development, we're working closely with Vietnam on that,” he said. “With US pressure on China to provide a fair trading environment to make sure both sides benefit from any trade relationship. Businesses are moving out of China and coming to Vietnam.”
In terms of human capital, the US official said that they are investing a lot in people everywhere not only in South East Asia.
“We've been hosting and sponsoring many courses including the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative or journalism for people in South East Asia,” he explained.
With Vietnam running as a chairman of the ASEAN next year, it will be a good opportunity for the US to increase co-operation with ASEAN and Vietnam, he stressed.
