Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and US Ambassador to Vietnam Marc E. Knapper in a meeting in Hanoi. (File photo: VNA)Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and other ASEAN leaders will attend a specialASEAN-US summit marking the 45th founding anniversary of the relations betweenthe two sides in Washington D.C. on May 12-13, at the invitation of USPresident Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. On this occasion, a delegation of Vietnamled by PM Chinh will visit the US and the United Nations from May 11 to 17,according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Following is the full text of the interview.
Q: The relationship between Vietnam and the US has made great strides forwardin the 27 years since diplomatic relations were established. In that context, what is the significance ofPrime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s visit to the US on May 11-17? What opportunities will the visit bring?
A: Our partnership is strong, and the breadth and depth of cooperation between ourtwo great countries is making our partnership even stronger. In areas as diverse as trade, development,education, health care, energy, and security, the United States and a strongand independent Vietnam are working together with a shared commitment to peaceand prosperity. And, we are a solid, andcommitted partner to helping Vietnam realise its ambitious COP26 goals.
We are pleased Prime Minister Chinh is coming to the United States for the US-ASEANSpecial Summit and welcome him and his delegation for meetings across the USgovernment, business, and academia. Themomentum of our bilateral relationship has been furthered by the frequentexchange of several leader-level visits which include: General Secretary of the Communist Party NguyenPhu Trong’s visit to the White House in 2015; President Obama’s visit toVietnam in 2016; Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s visit to Washington, D.C. in2017; President Trump’s visits to Hanoi in 2017 and 2019; and Vice PresidentKamala Harris’ visit to Hanoi last year.
His delegation’s busy schedule for this visit represents the importance to bothcountries of the US-Vietnam relationship, including in the health, education,security and defense, trade, and development sectors. We are very excited that he will meet notonly with leadership of our government, but also private sector partners whoare leading the way in innovation, digital transformation, and to creategreener products.
Q: During his visit, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh will attend the ASEAN-USSpecial Summit on the occasion of the 45th anniversary of the establishment ofrelations between the two sides. How doyou evaluate the ASEAN-US partnership over that time and what are the prospectsfor cooperation in the future? How doyou view Vietnam’s role in ASEAN-US relations?
A: Through the historic US-ASEAN Special Summit - the first ever to be hosted inWashington - we are also showing the importance of ASEAN to the United States.We seek a strong and independent ASEAN that leads in Southeast Asia. We endorse ASEAN centrality and support ASEANin its efforts to deliver sustainable solutions to the region’s most pressingchallenges.
To that end, we will deepen our long-standing cooperation with ASEAN whilelaunching new high-level engagements on health, climate and environment,energy, transportation, and gender equity and equality. The United States remains the number-oneinvestment partner in ASEAN member countries - investing more than SoutheastAsia’s next three investment partners combined.
Vietnam is a major player on the world stage, as evidenced by its successfultwo-year term on the UN Security Council that just ended. We work with Vietnam on a host of issuesrelated to our shared goals of regional and global peace and prosperity. Our support for Vietnam’s deployments to UNpeacekeeping missions is one area that especially comes to mind. We are proud of our work with the VietnamPeacekeeping Center to help provide equipment, training, and exchange expertisewith Vietnamese peacekeepers.
We are also a proud partner of Vietnam within ASEAN. The United States welcomes a strong andindependent ASEAN that leads in Southeast Asia. We endorse ASEAN centrality and support ASEAN in its efforts to deliversustainable solutions to the region’s most pressing challenges. To that end, wewill deepen long-standing cooperation with ASEAN while launching new high-levelengagements on health, climate and environment, energy, transportation, andgender equity and equality. We will workwith ASEAN to build its resilience as a leading regional institution.
The United States is working closely with Vietnam as we develop our vision ofthe Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, which seeks to advance resilience,inclusiveness, and competitiveness for our economies. Through this initiative, we aim to contributeto cooperation, peace, stability, prosperity, and sustainable development ofthe region. We also hope to learn fromVietnam’s previous experience as the United States hosts APEC in 2023.
Q: With a special relationship that has overcome the differences of the past,the two countries have been endeavoring to boost relations for furtherdevelopment. What are your expectationsof future relations?
A: The US Vietnam-partnership has never been better and, as the Prime Minister hassaid, Vietnam has never enjoyed higher international prestige. Our two countries have moved from a historyof conflict and division to a Comprehensive Partnership that spans political, security,economic, and people-to-people ties, as well as efforts to address the legaciesof war. It is a partnership that isstrengthening each day, and we sincerely hope to upgrade it to a StrategicPartnership. We believe that “strategic” more accurately describes the work weare already doing together. Our Indo-Pacific Strategy and Indo-Pacific EconomicFramework make clear that this partnership and Vietnam are central to ourengagement in this vital region.
With respect to economic and business relations, this is an important moment forthe United States and Vietnam, and the trade relationship between our twocountries is one of our most consequential ones. Despite COVID-19, US-Vietnam bilateral tradehit nearly 113 billion USD in 2021, a 26 percent increase over 2020. US andVietnamese companies have invested, and continue to invest, billions of dollarswith each other in critical sectors that impact people’s lives, such ashealthcare, energy, technology, and infrastructure.
We have been a strong partner for Vietnam throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, andwe will continue to work together to lay the foundations for Vietnam’s economicrecovery. We have provided nearly 40million doses of vaccine, and our companies have facilitated procurements of thousandsof new ventilators. We are very proud ofthese efforts to save lives not just in cities, but in far-reaching rural townsand provinces. And while we havewitnessed the pandemic disrupt global supply chains and shipping, causingdifficulties for many of our companies and both our economies, our partnershiphelps to guide us through pandemic recovery efforts to better days ahead.
As we heard from Special Presidential Envoy John Kerry during his Februaryvisit to Vietnam, the 2020s will be the decade for climate action, and noregion of the world has a more pivotal role in realising the global goal ofnet-zero emissions by 2050 than the economies of the East Asia Pacific region. Wesee tremendous opportunities for the role of the private sector – both US andVietnamese businesses – to support climate action through innovation andinvestments. The United States is yoursteadfast partner in these efforts, which will continue for not years, but fordecades to come.
Another promising area for bilateral cooperation is the digital economy, whichis increasingly a key area for economic growth. Over the past two years e-commerce, virtual meetings, and digitalpayments have kept our economies afloat during an unprecedented globalpandemic. The digital economy accountedfor an estimated 5 percent of Vietnam’s GDP in 2020, and the “National DigitalTransformation Program” has set a goal to increase this share to 30 percent ofGDP by 2030. The United States wants to see Vietnam take its place as a leaderin the digital economy, but it’s important to get the underlying structuresright. We have had many productiveconversations on this topic and are happy to continue to share our experienceswith balancing the opportunity for growth and innovation with the need forprivacy and security.
As we look to the year ahead, I see tremendous opportunities for us to deepenand expand collaboration between the US Mission, the Government of Vietnam, andour respective private sectors to support our mutual goals in Vietnam:rebuilding global supply chains; accelerating the country’s clean energytransition and sustainable growth; developing the digital economy in line withglobal best practices, and bringing world-class US products and services toVietnam to support its economic development./.
VNA
