Immediately after regaining independence, in addition to consolidating and building the young government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, President Ho Chi Minh actively expanded international relations.

On September 2, 1945, Uncle Ho read the Declaration of Independence, giving birth to the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. More than a month later, on October 17, 1945, Uncle Ho sent a telegram to the then US President Harry Truman, requesting that the US recognize Vietnam.

During the years 1945 - 1946, President Ho Chi Minh sent 8 letters and telegrams to President Harry Truman, and 3 letters and telegrams to Secretary of State James Byrnes.

During his visit to the US in July 2013, at a meeting at the White House, President Truong Tan Sang introduced to President Obama the letter that Uncle Ho sent to President Truman on February 16, 1946, in which he expressed Vietnam's desire for "complete independence" and the desire to establish "full cooperation" with the US.

In May 2022, on the occasion of visiting and working in the US and the United Nations, in Washington DC, during a meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, when discussing bilateral relations between Vietnam and the US, emphasized that the relationship between the two countries has a special history. Right from when Vietnam gained independence in 1945, President Ho Chi Minh sent a letter to US President Truman, especially the letter dated February 16, 1946.

The original letter is currently held at the US National Archives.

Letter from Uncle Ho to US President Truman on February 16, 1946.

In his letter dated February 16, 1946, Uncle Ho wrote: “Security and freedom can only be guaranteed by our independence from any colonial power, and by our voluntary cooperation with all other powers. It is with this firm conviction that we ask the United States, as guardians and champions of world Justice, to take a decisive step in support of our independence."

President Ho Chi Minh wrote in the letter that Vietnam's goal was complete independence and full cooperation with the United States: "We will do our utmost to make this independence and cooperation beneficial to the whole world."

Previously, in a letter to President Harry Truman on January 18, 1946, President Ho Chi Minh affirmed: "Vietnam warmly welcomes President Truman's speech on October 28, 1945, which clearly stated the principles of equality and self-determination set forth in the Atlantic and San Francisco Charters."

Letter from President Ho Chi Minh to US President Harry Truman on January 18, 1946.

At the end of the letter, President Ho Chi Minh expressed his hope that “the United States will help the Vietnamese people achieve independence and support the Vietnamese people in the process of national reconstruction” and pledged that if it received support from the United States, “the Democratic Republic of Vietnam will contribute to building peace and prosperity in the world.”

In 1969, when the US was increasingly bogged down and suffered heavy losses as well as strong criticism from the international community and even within the US itself, President Richard Nixon had to send a letter to President Ho Chi Minh on July 15, 1969, expressing his desire to negotiate to end the war in Vietnam.

Letter from President Richard Nixon to President Ho Chi Minh on July 15, 1969 (left) and reply letter from President Ho Chi Minh on August 25, 1969.

And more than a month later, despite his declining health, Uncle Ho still expressed his wishes for the people, the country, and the nation's independence when he sent a reply letter to the US President.

The content of Uncle Ho's letter said: "We, the Vietnamese people, love peace, a true peace in true independence and freedom...

In the letter, he expressed his desire to act for a just peace. To do so, the United States must end the war of aggression and withdraw its troops from South Vietnam, respect the right to self-determination of the people of South Vietnam and of the Vietnamese nation, without foreign interference."

The war prevented cooperation from both sides and everything was only truly initiated and developed when on July 12, 1995, US President Bill Clinton and Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet officially announced the normalization and establishment of diplomatic relations.

Looking further back into the past, we can see that, through telegrams/letters as President of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, nearly 80 years ago, Uncle Ho always had the desire fora relationship of "full cooperation" between Vietnam and the United States.

In an interview with the press on the afternoon of September 8, regarding US President Joe Biden's visit to Vietnam, Deputy Foreign Minister Ha Kim Ngoc emphasized that this is a very important milestone in the journey of joint efforts of the two countries to realize the wish of President Ho Chi Minh stated in his February 1946 letter to US President Harry Truman, which is that Vietnam has a full cooperative relationship with the US.

Vietnamnet.vn