Professor Nguyễn Thị Liên Hằng, director of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute at Columbia University. — VNA/VNS Photo

NEW YORK — The upcoming participation of General Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam Central Committee and President Tô Lâm in the high-level general debate of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly and his engagement in bilateral activities in the US carries dual strategic significance, according to Professor Nguyễn Thị Liên Hằng, director of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute at Columbia University.

In an interview with Vietnam News Agency (VNA) correspondents in New York, Hằng said the trip will not only help further deepen the Việt Nam-US Comprehensive Strategic Partnership but also affirm Việt Nam’s growing role and position at multilateral forums.

She noted that the trip takes place in the context that bilateral ties have maintained strong momentum since the two countries elevated their relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, with cooperation expanding across politics, diplomacy, trade, investment, technology and people-to-people exchanges.

According to the expert, the top Vietnamese leader’s activities in the US in early 2026, including discussions on bilateral trade balance and international issues of shared concern, demonstrated the country’s proactive, straightforward and substantive approach to dialogue.

His participation in UNGA 81, the centrepiece of global multilateral diplomacy, is therefore expected to further highlight Việt Nam’s importance in US foreign policy and its increasingly prominent role in the region and the international arena, she stated.

Hằng identified energy, technology, aviation and finance as areas with considerable potential for further cooperation, as they are all directly aligned with Việt Nam’s goal of achieving rapid and sustainable development, as well as the economic, trade and investment interests of the US in the Asia-Pacific region.

She further assessed that energy cooperation could support Việt Nam’s energy transition and energy security while facilitating access to technology, capital and expertise in clean-energy development. High technology would remain an important pillar, given Việt Nam’s growing role in regional and global supply chains and its focus on science, technology, innovation and digital transformation.

She also highlighted the potential of aviation and financial cooperation, saying these sectors could help strengthen economic connectivity, mobilise resources for development and expand new areas of partnership. At the same time, education, academic exchanges, culture and war legacy remediation would remain important long-term foundations for building mutual understanding and trust between the two peoples.

Regarding Việt Nam’s message at the UN, the professor said that the country is well placed to contribute to efforts to restore trust, strengthen multilateralism, uphold international law and improve the effectiveness of the UN.

She noted that in his address at the 23rd Shangri-La Dialogue in May in Singapore, General Secretary and President Lâm identified three interconnected crises facing the world – those of the international order, development models and strategic trust – which require comprehensive and inclusive solutions based on cooperation rather than confrontation.

In this context, the top leader’s important address at UNGA 81’s High-level General Debate will convey Việt Nam’s strong message reaffirming the central role of the UN, adherence to the UN Charter, effective multilateralism, equal cooperation, and the responsible participation of all countries, regardless of their size or capabilities.

Việt Nam, as a middle-sized developing country with expanding international relations, could make a constructive contribution to narrowing differences, building trust and promoting peaceful solutions. Its experience, and its foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, and diversification and multilateralisation of external relations provide a basis for such contributions, Hằng said.

She also stressed the role of education, culture, academic exchanges and the Vietnamese community in the US in creating a sustainable social foundation for bilateral ties. She said initiatives by Global Vietnam at Columbia University during General Secretary and President Lâm’s trip, including cultural and policy events, will provide opportunities for US scholars, businesses and policymakers to gain a better understanding of Việt Nam’s foreign policy, development vision and contributions to peace, cooperation and development. — VNA/VNS