According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at the invitation of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and to implement the Joint Statement between General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and US President Joe Biden in September 2023 on upgrading Vietnam - US relations to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, on March 25, 2024 in Washington DC, USA, Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son and Secretary of State Antony Blinken co-chaired the first Vietnam - US Foreign Ministers' Dialogue.
This is also the first ministerial-level dialogue between Vietnam and the United States since the two countries established a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
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| Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son and Secretary of State Antony Blinken co-chaired the first Vietnam-US Foreign Ministerial Dialogue. Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs |
At the Dialogue, Secretary of State Antony Blinken was pleased to welcome Minister Bui Thanh Son to Washington DC to co-chair the Foreign Ministers' Dialogue, which took place exactly half a year after the two countries established a new framework for relations. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that this was an important occasion for the two sides to review and promote the implementation of high-level agreements between the two countries.
In particular, Secretary of State Antony Blinken affirmed that the United States values the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with Vietnam, supports a strong, independent, self-reliant, prosperous Vietnam that continues to innovate, expands international integration, and assumes an increasingly important role in ASEAN and the region as well as in the international arena.
During the Dialogue, Secretary of State Blinken emphasized the United States' commitment to implementing the new framework of relations and the agreements of the two countries' senior leaders.
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| The Vietnamese Foreign Minister affirmed that the United States is a strategically important partner of Vietnam and emphasized that upgrading the bilateral relationship is a correct decision that demonstrates the strategic vision of the two countries' senior leaders. Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs |
Speaking at the Dialogue, Vietnamese Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son agreed with Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the significance of the annual Dialogue mechanism at the Foreign Ministers level of the two countries.
The Vietnamese Foreign Minister affirmed that the United States is a strategically important partner of Vietnam and emphasized that upgrading the bilateral relationship is a correct decision that demonstrates the strategic vision of the two countries' senior leaders and efforts to strengthen bilateral cooperation, in line with the interests of the two peoples, contributing to peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region.
"Vietnam will continue to work with the United States to implement the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in an increasingly effective, substantive, and stable manner, while expanding the space for cooperation on the basis of respecting each other's independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, and political institutions, in order to maintain the momentum of development for decades to come," Minister Bui Thanh Son affirmed, and on this occasion, respectfully conveyed the greetings of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong to US President Joe Biden.
Also in the Dialogue, Minister Bui Thanh Son and Secretary of State Antony Blinken reviewed the progress in bilateral relations and reviewed the cooperation contents implemented since the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership was established in September 2023. Political and diplomatic relations have been increasingly strengthened, with high-level contacts and exchanges taking place vigorously.
The leaders of both sides agreed that economic, trade and investment cooperation continues to be an important driving force of bilateral relations. Cooperation in the fields of security - defense, education - training, health, science - technology, etc. has progressed positively, cooperation in overcoming the consequences of war continues to be a bright spot, typically the dioxin remediation project at Bien Hoa airport, the number of Vietnamese students studying in the United States is increasing, etc.
New areas of cooperation such as climate change response, energy transition, science and technology, innovation, technology transfer and human resource training in the semiconductor industry are of interest to both sides.
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| Secretary of State Antony Blinken affirmed that the United States values the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with Vietnam and supports a strong, independent, self-reliant, prosperous Vietnam that continues to innovate and expand international integration. Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs |
At the same time, the two Ministers also discussed measures to further deepen bilateral relations. The two Ministers agreed to promote the Foreign Ministers' Dialogue mechanism to enhance close cooperation between the two Foreign Ministries in implementing high-level agreements; effectively implement existing bilateral cooperation mechanisms, including the political-security-defense dialogue mechanism, defense policy dialogue, and human rights dialogue; and agreed to actively coordinate in organizing activities to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the normalization of relations between the two countries in 2025.
The two sides also discussed regional and international issues of mutual concern. Minister Bui Thanh Son suggested that the United States continue to play an active role in contributing to maintaining peace, stability, cooperation and development in the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean as well as in the world.
Secretary Blinken affirmed that the United States supports ASEAN's central role in the region and will continue to promote cooperation within the framework of the ASEAN-US Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, while affirming that the United States supports Mekong-US cooperation, climate change response, and United Nations peacekeeping operations (PKO).
In addition, at the Dialogue, the leaders of the two sides also discussed the East Sea issue and agreed on the importance of peace, security, stability, freedom of navigation and aviation in the East Sea, resolving disputes through peaceful measures, in accordance with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), fully implementing the DOC and moving towards an effective and substantive COC.
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