In Washington DC, the Vietnamese delegation led by Chairman of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Foreign Affairs Lê Hoài Trung held a working session with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. — VNA/VNS Photos Kiều Trang

WASHINGTON — Việt Nam attaches importance to relations with the US and wants to continue developing the ties for the benefit of their people, and for peace, friendship, cooperation, and development in the region and the world.

That was the message from Chairman of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Foreign Affairs Lê Hoài Trung who held meetings with US officials during his working visit to the US from June 28 to July 2 at the invitation of the US Department of State.

In Washington DC, the Vietnamese delegation held working sessions with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Samantha Power, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink and Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Sasha Baker, President & Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the US-ASEAN Business Council (US-ABC). They also met with former US officials and senators who support the development of Việt Nam-US relations.

In New York, the delegation worked with UN Under-Secretary-General for Policy Guy Ryder, and had an online discussion with US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry. They also had meetings with long-standing friends of Việt Nam in the US, and representatives of the US Communist Party.

During the meetings, both sides agreed that the Việt Nam-US Comprehensive Partnership has witnessed robust, positive, and comprehensive development across fields in recent years.

The US officials affirmed that the US considers Việt Nam one of its key partners in the region, agreeing that the bilateral relations have enjoyed support from both the Democratic Party and Republican Party. They highly valued the recent contacts and meetings between the two sides, particularly the high-level phone talks between General Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam Nguyễn Phú Trọng and President Joe Biden in March 2023.

They emphasised the desire to maintain exchanges and meetings at all levels, especially at the high-level, during the year marking the 10th founding anniversary of the Comprehensive Partnership; and deepen the bilateral relations, especially in terms of economic cooperation, climate change response, green energy, education - training, tackling war consequences, people-to-people exchanges and addressing global issues.

Meanwhile, the UN official acknowledged and applauded Việt Nam's successful development, cooperation, and contributions within the framework of the UN, hoping that Việt Nam will further enhance its important role in addressing global issues.

The US friends and representatives of the Communist Party of the US showed their pleasure with Việt Nam's renewal achievements and the path to socialism in the Southeast Asian nation, affirming that they always support Việt Nam and the development of the Việt Nam-US relationship.

Trung suggested the two sides continue promoting high-level exchanges and meetings, improving the efficiency of cooperation via the Party, state and people-to-people diplomacy channels in line with the results of the phone talks between General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng and President Joe Biden.

The Vietnamese official said that Việt Nam treasures the role played by the UN and will continue to actively and responsibly contribute to the organisation’s activities.

Trung also expressed his gratitude to US friends who have always supported Việt Nam in the struggles for national liberation in the past. He also proposed directions to strengthen cooperation with the US Communist Party and socio-political organisations between the two sides in the coming time. — VNS

In Washington DC the Vietnamese delegation held a working session with Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Samantha Power.