Washington DC (VNA) – Deputy Prime Minister and ForeignMinister Pham Binh Minh had meetings with several US officials in Washington DCon May 23 as part of his official visit to the North American nation.

Talking to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin,Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Minh affirmed that Vietnam has been improvingits investment climate, and it encourages US companies to invest and dobusiness in the country. He also proposed that the two sides continue handlingissues of shared concern in the spirit of promoting win-win trade.

Secretary Mnuchin agreed to keep fosteringeconomic, trade and investment ties, considering these as a foundation for thetwo countries’ relations. He also appreciated Vietnam’s active sharing ofinformation and settlement of some priority economic-financial issues.

At another meeting, the Vietnamese official andCommerce Secretary Wilbur Ross reviewed the progress in bilateral economic-tradelinks. 

To support the upward trend of thesepartnerships, they agreed to continue optimising available cooperationmechanisms, including the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, whilenegotiating new, stable and long-term economic-trade frameworks that match thecharacteristics and scale of the two countries’ economic ties and overall relations.

Meeting with Acting Defence Secretary PatrickShanahan, Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Minh appreciated the US Department ofDefence for allocating part of its budget for the dioxin remediation project atBien Hoa airbase, which was officially launch in April this year.

The two sides agreed to further enhancecooperation under the 2011 memorandum of understanding on defence cooperationand the 2015 joint vision statement on defence cooperation, including in marinesecurity, unexploded ordnance clearance, the Bien Hoa airbase dioxinremediation project, support for Agent Orange/dioxin victims, and search forVietnamese soldiers missing in action.

The Vietnamese official also met with EliotEngel, Chairman of the US House of Representatives’ Committee on ForeignAffairs. Engel emphasised his support for the two countries’ comprehensivepartnership, affirming that the US congress will continue supporting budget allocationfor cooperation with Vietnam in war consequence settlement, especially the BienHoa airbase dioxin remediation project and supporting persons withdisabilities.

He noted that the US congress pays attention tothe East Sea situation and supports the maintenance of freedom, safety andsecurity of navigation and aviation, as well as the peaceful handling ofdisputes on the basis of international law, including the 1982 UN Convention onthe Law of the Sea.

Receiving Executive Vice President of the AESCorp. Gustavo Pimenta, Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Minh reiterated that theVietnamese Government always creates the best possible conditions for USbusinesses to operate, especially in the field of energy. He expressed hisbelief that the AES’s investment projects in Vietnam will be successful andhelp attract more projects of US firms to the Southeast Asian nation.-VNA