US Ambassador to Vietnam Marc Knapper. VNA/VNS Photo

 US Ambassador to Vietnam Marc Knapper met with the media on September 6 to provide information about the upcoming State visit to Việt Nam by President Joseph R. Biden, Jr., noting that one of the US’s objectives is to promote bilateral cooperation based on mutual understanding and trust.

The US President's State visit from September 10 - 11 will be made at the invitation of General Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam Nguyễn Phú Trọng.

Talking to the press, the ambassador noted that the US’s policy towards Việt Nam for the past many years was based on the respect for each other’s territorial integrity, sovereignty, and political institutions.

Both sides shared viewpoints on some international issues, including the East Sea (known internationally as the South China Sea) matters, he said, elaborating that they are completely unanimous in the importance of complying with international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and peacefully resolving the East Sea-related issues.

The US had also shared with Việt Nam several fields of international cooperation such as climate change response, health care, and particularly the settlement of socio-economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.

Knapper stressed that the US shared Việt Nam’s efforts to become a high-income country by 2045 and achieve net zero emissions by 2050, saying he looks forward to President Biden’s visit to Việt Nam to show that the two countries’ futures are connected with each other and to realise the set targets.

The ambassador noted that the fastest way to boost bilateral cooperation based on mutual understanding and trust would be stepping up people-to-people exchanges.

Besides, according to the ambassador, increasing educational cooperation is also a foundation to build the bilateral relations. There are about 30,000 Vietnamese students studying in the US at present, forming the fifth largest community of foreign students there. However, the number doesn’t fully reflect the collaboration in education since many are also enrolling in short-term or online courses.

The diplomat voiced his hope that President Biden’s visit would also open up more opportunities for educational partnership between the countries.

The two sides were also set to discuss cooperation in green energy during the trip, he added. VNS