A new chapter in Vietnam-US relations

Q: The official US visit made by General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong received a lot of positive comments from the public, both at home and abroad, over the past few days, many of which considered it as a historic visit. As head of the agency preparing and organising the visit, what is your opinion of these comments?

A: It is true that General Secretary Trong's US visit drew special attention from both domestic and foreign public and press, with the timing, agenda and reception of the visit making it a historic and important milestone in the Vietnam-US relations.

Firstly, it was the first time a General Secretary of the CPV - a position with no equivalence in the US's administration system - visited the US, a former enemy with a different political system. US President Barack Obama and leaders of the US administration and Congress gave General Secretary Trong a respectful and solemn reception, including a prolific and practical working programme.

Secondly, taking place on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of normalisation of Vietnam-US diplomatic ties, the visit provided an opportunity for the two countries to review the bilateral relations over the past two decades and discuss visions and orientations for the relations in the years ahead. This important highlight was clearly manifested through the Vietnam-US Joint Vision Statement as well as the agenda of talks between General Secretary Trong and President Obama and other US senior leaders.

Thirdly, the visit witnessed a historic talk lasting 95 minutes, much longer than the scheduled time of between 45 and 60 minutes. The two leaders of both countries, which used to be enemies in the past and which currently hold different political systems, discussed with each other and met with the press at the Oval Room in the White House. Most notably, among the attendees were also other senior officials of the US government including Vice President Joe Biden, National Security Advisor Susan Rice, Secretary of the Treasury Jack Lew and Trade Representative Michael Froman - which was unprecedented previously. In a frank, open, constructive and positive fashion, General Secretary Trong and President Obama discussed many important issues in relations between the two countries - including those of difference - and regional and international issues of mutual concern, which contributed to enhancing mutual understanding. Many considered it a talk for the future, with practical issues relating to the future vision of the Vietnam-US relations discussed. After the talk, the two leaders held a vivid and interesting press briefing, which captivated the media.

The success of the visit has indicated that the two countries, whilst holding different political systems, can definitely overcome differences, understand and accept each other, and work together for mutual interests. The invitation extended to General Secretary Trong to make an official US visit shows the full respect of the US for Vietnam's political institution and the CPV's leadership. The visit also holds international meaning thanks to the importance of the Vietnam-US relations to the regional and international community and the meeting between General Secretary Trong and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-mun.

Q: General Secretary Trong had an extremely busy visit with a dense working schedule in the US. What are the outstanding outcomes of the visit?

A: That's right, the General Secretary had 23 prolific and practical activities, the most important of which included joining a historic talk with US President Barack Obama, delivering a speech at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, meeting with US representatives from all classes and US parliamentarians, visiting former US President Bill Clinton's family and meeting with left-wing US friends of Vietnam. Generally, the visit achieved many comprehensive and practical outcomes, as follows.

Firstly, the visit contributed to enhancing political trust, thereby promoting the relations between the two countries. Both sides discussed issues requiring mutual efforts such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), human rights and addressing post-war consequences in an open and straightforward atmosphere. Boosting mutual trust, understanding and respect was an important highlight. President Barack Obama happily accepted General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong's invitation to visit Vietnam.

Secondly, the two sides reviewed the bilateral relations after 20 years of the normalisation of diplomatic ties, while working out visions for the future. They also discussed the promotion of trade and investment co-operation, the enhancement of relations in politics, foreign affairs, security and national defence, and the expansion of co-operation in science and technology, education and training, health and climate change, in a move to deepen the comprehensive partnership and create a foundation to lift the bilateral ties to a new height. The two sides issued the Vietnam-US Joint Vision Statement, an important framework directing the vision of the relationship between the two countries towards positivity, healthiness and stability.

General Secretary Trong and the Vietnamese delegation attended a talk and a meeting with over 100 large US enterprises, thereby transferring to the US government and business community a strong message that Vietnam is willing to create the most favourable conditions for US enterprises to invest in Vietnam.

During the visit, the two sides signed 14 documents and co-operative agreements in many areas, including many important documents relating to the areas of tax, budget, oil and gas, and aviation, releasing a strong message on the future of trade relations between the two countries.

Thirdly, both sides discussed and shared their stances on regional and international issues of mutual concern including the East Sea issue, aiming to strengthen co-operation and make positive contributions to peace, security, stability, co-operation and development in the Asia-Pacific region. Vietnam welcomes all countries, including the US, to play positive and responsible roles in maintaining peace, security, stability and freedom of aviation and navigation, and promoting co-operation in the region.

Fourthly, the visit has contributed significantly to implementing the Party and State's great national unity policy. The sincere and moving meeting between General Secretary Trong and overseas Vietnamese in the US is a strong indication of the great national unity policy of the Party and State to the overseas Vietnamese. The Party chief sincerely asked after overseas Vietnamese and listened to their thoughts and aspirations, while encouraging them to unite and join hands with domestic compatriots in Vietnam to build a wealthy and happy country, safeguarding national independence and sovereignty, whilst functioning as an effective connecting bridge for development of Vietnam-US friendly relations and co-operation.

Through this visit, the international community was ensured that Vietnam consistently pursues a foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, peace, co-operation and development, positive and active international integration and being a responsible member of the international community.

Q: As part of his US visit, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong delivered an important speech before scholars at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Could please elaborate on the highlights of this dialogue?

A: The General Secretary's speech at one of the US's leading research institutes played an important role in promoting dialogue between the political circles and scholars of the two countries. The speech reflected the comprehensive vision for bilateral relations, directly touching upon sensitive issues and strategic analyses of the developments of regional and international situation. Here are some main points:

- Analysing lesser-known historical events of Vietnam-US relations for a better and more comprehensive understanding of relations between the two countries; expressing an objective and dialectical view about the war that the US fought in Vietnam and on the spirit of rising above the past, overcoming differences, promoting shared interests and looking towards to the future.

- Affirming achievements of bilateral relations since the two countries normalised relations 20 years ago; analysing in detail the current state of the world and highlighting Vietnam's foreign policy.

- Conveying the vision for Vietnam-US relations in the spirit of enhancing the Comprehensive Partnership as a foundation for bringing relations to a new level in the future; outlining major orientations for bilateral relations: increasing high-level exchanges, building political trust, promoting economic, trade and investment cooperation as the focal centres and driving force for the development of bilateral relations; expanding cooperation in science, technology, education, health, the environment and so on; considering defence and security cooperation as a factor in enhancing political trust and strategic value of the bilateral relationship, increasing humanitarian cooperation and people-to-people exchanges.

- Exchanging candid views on human rights; highlighting the policy of cooperation on regional and international issues, including the maintenance of peace, security, stability, safety, freedoms of navigation and overflight in the Asia Pacific and the East Sea in particular.

In his speech, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong sent a message on the optimistic future of Vietnam-US relations by quoting US President Theodore Roosevelt: "Believe you can and you're halfway there."

The audience highly appreciated the importance of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong's speech, noting that it was a profound and highly strategic discourse.

Q: Could you please share some of your thoughts about the future of Vietnam-US relations?

A: It is undeniable that bilateral relations in the past 20 years have developed in a positive way and General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong's successful US visit is undoubtedly a historic milestone, opening up a new chapter in bilateral relations.

Looking to the future, both countries have significant motivation for strengthening relations, namely shared interests on the bilateral, regional and global dimension. There also remains potential for enhanced cooperation in many areas. Specifically, if the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement is signed early, it will provide more opportunities for cooperation between Vietnam and the US. The people and enterprises of Vietnam and the US will benefit from this trade pact.

Overall, I think that Vietnam and the US share major cooperation opportunities that could bring benefits for the two countries and their peoples, contributing to peace, stability, cooperation and development in the Asia-Pacific region and the world over. We can fully believe in the bright prospects of Vietnam-US relations.

However, in order for the bilateral relationship to develop in a positive way as desired, we need efforts from both sides in the spirit of rising above the past, overcoming differences, promoting shared interests and looking forward to the future, on the basis of respect for each other's political systems, independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity; and with an approach of straightforward and constructive dialogue to issues of difference.

(Source: Nhandan Online)