Foreign Minister Bùi Thanh Sơn met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI – Foreign Minister Bùi Thanh Sơn, who is accompanying Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính during his US trip, met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan in Washington DC on May 13 (local time).

At the meetings, FM Sơn thanked the US Department of State and the US National Security Council for helping promote the Việt Nam-US relations over the years, especially through the close coordination in organising the ASEAN-US Special Summit. 

The two sides were pleased that US President Joe Biden and PM Phạm Minh Chính had a meeting on the sidelines of the summit.

They engaged in practical discussions on the bilateral relations between the two countries and regional and international issues of shared concern.

Sơn expressed his delight at the positive development of the Việt Nam-US comprehensive partnership over the years, as seen in mutual visits, including by US Vice President Kamala Harris in 2021 and meetings and telephone talks between officials of both sides.

Bilateral cooperation in many areas such as economy, trade, COVID-19 prevention and control, education-training, science-technology, climate change response, and war aftermath settlement had been strengthened despite difficulties from COVID-19, he noted. 

Sơn said he hoped the US Secretary of State and the National Security Advisor would continue to make positive contributions to the development of the Việt Nam-US comprehensive partnership.

Blinken and Sullivan said they were impressed by the breakthrough growth of Việt Nam in the past years and valued the important outcomes of the comprehensive partnership between the two countries.

US officials affirmed that they hoped the two sides would continue to promote cooperation in all aspects of their comprehensive partnership.

Responding to the Vietnamese official’s proposal to turn the US into one of the leading investors into Việt Nam, Sullivan said that President Biden’s administration hoped to increase investment and development cooperation with all partners in the region and the world, including Việt Nam.

Blinken said that the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework was one of the US’s efforts to promote an economic mechanism that would benefit all parties and respond to global economic challenges, especially during the post-pandemic period.

He said he hoped to continue to hold more detailed discussions with Việt Nam on the initiative’s content.

The two sides agreed to continue working closely on regional cooperation frameworks, especially in the ASEAN and Mekong Sub-Region.

Accepting the invitation of the Vietnamese foreign minister, Blinken and Sullivan said they would visit Việt Nam when conditions permit. — VNS