US President Joe Biden to visit Vietnam: Orientation for the next journey

TP - Vietnam and the US have come a long way, from former enemies to normalization to Comprehensive Partnership. On the occasion of US President Joe Biden's upcoming visit to Vietnam, the two sides will certainly not only re-evaluate but also orient the bilateral relationship to further develop in the coming time.

That was the comment of former Deputy Foreign Minister Pham Quang Vinh, Chairman of the Vietnam - US Friendship Association , when talking to Tien Phong reporter about US President Joe Biden's visit to Vietnam, scheduled from September 10-11.

Reporter: What major features do you see in the 10 years of the Vietnam - US Comprehensive Partnership?

Former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Quang Vinh

Ambassador Pham Quang Vinh : 10 years of Comprehensive Partnership is the period of development in both breadth and depth, the strongest in 28 years of Vietnam - US diplomatic relations.

The two sides have established a stable and long-term cooperation framework, enhancing understanding and trust through high-level visits. Over the past 10 years, there have been continuous high-level and all-level visits from both sides. In the US, there is a great consensus between the Democratic and Republican parties, and every administration has emphasized and valued the relationship with Vietnam. Among those visits, we can mention the visits of President Barack Obama, President Donald Trump, and now President Joe Biden. On our side, the most notable was the visit of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong to the White House - the first and historic visit by the head of our Party. At that time, the two sides issued a Joint Vision Statement, emphasizing the framework of stable, long-term, mutually beneficial cooperation, and emphasizing the principles guiding the relationship, including the principle of respecting each other's political institutions.

Cooperation in all areas of the Vietnam-US Comprehensive Partnership has been strengthened and expanded, from politics to foreign affairs, security - defense, economics - trade - investment, people-to-people exchange, regional and international cooperation. In particular, cooperation in overcoming the consequences of war has made great strides. In this field, the two sides cooperate in removing unexploded bombs and mines and detoxification, with major projects such as detoxification of Da Nang airport and now Bien Hoa airport. The two sides are also cooperating in searching for the remains of missing soldiers and soldiers, identifying their identities using DNA technology.

Economic cooperation has always been a bright spot in Vietnam-US relations. Ten years ago, two-way trade was only 35 billion USD, now it has reached 123 billion USD, an increase of nearly 4 times. Over the past 10 years, the trade growth rate has always been at double digits, proving that economic and trade relations are complementary and mutually beneficial. That also shows that the US is still an attractive market, with the potential to further expand trade with Vietnam. That also proves that the production capacity and competitiveness of the Vietnamese economy are good.

During the 10 years of Comprehensive Partnership, Vietnam - US relations have developed in all aspects, from politics, economics to building trust, strategic position in the common space in Asia - Pacific, including ASEAN, cooperation in overcoming the consequences of bombs and mines...

Room for cooperation

In your opinion, what is the significance of President Joe Biden's visit to Vietnam at this time?

Vietnam-US relations have come a long way in the process of establishing and developing diplomatic relations, from former enemies to normalization to Comprehensive Partnership. It is clear that in the past 10 years, the momentum of development has been great. On this anniversary, the two sides not only re-evaluate but also orient the bilateral relationship to develop further in the coming time.

During the anniversary year, the two sides had many discussions, notably the phone call between General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and President Joe Biden in March, which touched on very important issues. First of all, the two sides found that the Vietnam-US relationship has developed very positively in recent times, in line with the interests and aspirations of the people of the two countries. This is a very important general assessment. Second, the two sides affirmed that they will continue to deepen the bilateral relationship and raise it to a new level. This visit must certainly aim at that. The two sides will also emphasize the guiding principles of the cooperative relationship, including the principle of respecting political institutions, creating a foundation for the two countries with different levels of economic development, different histories, cultures and socio-political regimes to continue to strengthen bilateral cooperation further.

Finally, the two sides agreed that there is still room for further development in current areas of cooperation, and proposed a number of areas that Vietnam and the US should focus on in the coming time. These are economic cooperation, science and technology, investment and education. The two sides will also emphasize digital transformation, green transformation and human resource training for economic cooperation.

During her visit to Vietnam in July, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen spoke extensively about the sustainability of supply chains, as well as promoting green transformation based on technological innovation. The White House announcement of President Biden's visit also made it clear that this visit will aim to further strengthen cooperation with Vietnam to support Vietnam's economic development based on innovative technology, thereby promoting bilateral cooperation in this field.

On that basis, I think that during this visit, the two sides will certainly discuss and calculate how to upgrade the relationship appropriately, demonstrating both the strategic and comprehensive nature of cooperation between the two countries.

Economic focus

Before President Joe Biden, congressional groups, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen visited Vietnam this year. Based on those visits, what other focuses do you think will be emphasized when Vietnam welcomes President Biden this time?

All stem from the contents that the two leaders agreed upon during their phone calls. There have been many visits to implement those contents, including those of Secretary of State Blinken, Secretary of the Treasury Yellen, and a delegation of more than 50 American businesses. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh also discussed with American businesses here. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Comprehensive Partnership, and both sides will emphasize the momentum of this relationship and how to make it better. Economy will be one of the focuses of cooperation. New areas of cooperation will certainly be the stories that both sides emphasize more, including the issue of digital transformation, promoting cooperation in innovative technology, green transformation, including commitments on climate change adaptation, along with the use of green energy, green economy, green infrastructure, etc. Both sides have potential in these areas for further cooperation.

The technology to preserve fresh grapefruit for 90 days helps Vietnamese fruit to be exported strongly to the US by sea. Photo: Manh Hung

Another focus is supply chain resilience. There has been talk of supply chain disruptions in recent times, due to the pandemic, the conflict in Ukraine and major power competition. Clearly, Vietnam is an important link in ensuring resilient supply chains.

Through Ms. Yellen's visit, the stories that the two sides exchanged and the announcement of the White House, I think that in the shift of the supply chain, the story of technological cooperation will be very important. There are many opportunities, the ability and momentum of cooperation between the two sides is still very large. Implementation in the coming time is very important. For Vietnam, in order to be able to take advantage of financial flows and investment for digital transformation, green and clean transformation, including related science and technology, what our Government is doing is focusing on 3 aspects: improving the policy framework to be more suitable, further improving infrastructure and human resources. If we agree to implement, it will strongly promote cooperation between the two countries.

Thank you sir.

Tienphong.vn