Ambassador Knapper said that since 1946, President Ho Chi Minh has shown a clear vision of Vietnam - US relations and the two countries have realized that with the current level of relations.
"The establishment of a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between Vietnam and the US during President Joe Biden's visit is a wonderful development, bringing a sense of completeness to the bilateral relationship," US Ambassador to Vietnam Marc Knapper told VnExpress on September 27 while visiting the Kim Lien special national relic site in Nghe An province, the hometown of President Ho Chi Minh.
According to him, this also shows President Ho Chi Minh's clear vision of "full cooperation" between the two countries, expressed in a letter to US President Harry Truman 77 years ago.
In a letter to President Truman on February 16, 1946, President Ho expressed Vietnam's desire for "complete independence" and the desire to establish "full cooperation" with the United States. "We will do our utmost to make this independence and cooperation beneficial to the whole world," President Ho Chi Minh wrote. However, Mr. Truman did not respond to the letter from the Vietnamese leader at that time.
Ambassador Knapper said that the wishes expressed by President Ho Chi Minh in the letter showed a long-term vision for bilateral relations, because Vietnam and the US had cooperated together since 1945 against fascism in World War II, with the presence of advisors from the US Office of Strategic Services (OSS), operating in the Viet Minh's Tan Trao war zone before the August Revolution.
"We shook hands as friends during those years in Tuyen Quang," he commented. "Unfortunately, the two countries went in different directions nearly 50 years later. This often happens in friendship, but in the end, the two friends returned to each other."
Ambassador Knapper emphasized that over the past 28 years, since the normalization of relations, Vietnam and the United States have continuously strengthened and expanded bilateral cooperation. The establishment of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries is also "the realization of President Ho Chi Minh's vision and wisdom about the potential of Vietnam-US relations".
According to him, the cooperative efforts to overcome the consequences of war played a very important role, being the premise for the two countries to normalize relations in 1995, helping to build trust and create a solid foundation for bilateral reconciliation and cooperation to reach the current level.
"The American people greatly appreciate the humanitarian spirit of the Vietnamese government and people in supporting the search and return of the remains of American soldiers missing in action during the war," he shared.
This is also a consistent cooperation content in Vietnam-US relations before and after normalization. In recent years, Washington has increased its support for Vietnam in handling unexploded bombs and mines, implementing two projects to treat dioxin-contaminated soil at Da Nang and Bien Hoa airports, and helping those affected by bombs, mines and dioxin.
The new cooperation between the two countries in this field is to support the search and identification of the remains of Vietnamese soldiers missing in action during the war, in which the US will conduct two directions, including documentary research and genetic analysis, the Ambassador said.
Vietnamese archivists, historians and researchers will be assisted in accessing official and unofficial archives in the US to determine the burial sites of Vietnamese soldiers who died during the war. The two countries will then use genetic research technology to verify the identities of the martyrs and return their remains to their relatives.
"This is an effort by the US side to bring peace and truly close the past for the families of Vietnamese martyrs who have been waiting for information for many years, just as the Vietnamese government and people have tried to bring peace to the families of more than 700 US soldiers missing in action during the war," he said.
On September 27, Mr. Knapper visited the Kim Lien National Special Relic Site, Kim Lien and Nam Giang communes, Nam Dan district, during his visit and work in Nghe An province. Photo: Duc Hung
The son of a US veteran who fought in Vietnam, Knapper said he was moved by the efforts to mend and strengthen relations between the two countries. He recalled that his late father had visited Vietnam three times to fulfill his wish to see Vietnam in peace and development.
The US Ambassador recalled that during his visit to Vietnam in 2004, his father met a number of Vietnamese veterans and almost immediately felt "a sense of brotherhood and friendship" with those who had been on the other side of the battle line.
He called it a very strong bond that perhaps only soldiers like his father and veterans have. "They seem to have their own language, in a way that people who have not experienced combat cannot understand," the Ambassador said.
"I think if my father could see Vietnam today, he would be even more impressed," he said. "This demonstrates the power of reconciliation, when people from both sides make great efforts to create great changes in bilateral relations."
Ambassador Knapper burns incense at a grave at the Vinh City Martyrs Cemetery during his working visit to Nghe An on September 27. Photo: Duc Hung
The US Ambassador said that after upgrading bilateral relations, the two countries will maintain the past efforts to mend ties as a way to show respect for the achievements that both sides have made in this field.
He also expected the two countries to strengthen cooperation to promote the semiconductor ecosystem in Vietnam, cooperate in high-tech education as well as people-to-people exchange.
"These are all meaningful areas of cooperation for both the US and Vietnam, connecting the people of the two countries and helping Vietnam achieve its expectations in the coming decades," he said.
Vnexpress.net
Comment (0)