General Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam Central Committee Nguyễn Phú Trọng and United States President Joe Biden held talks in Hà Nội on Sunday. — VNA/VNS Photo Trí Dũng

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam and the United States on Sunday announced the establishment of Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for Peace, Cooperation, and Sustainable Development, a major, historic upgrade from the current Comprehensive Partnership.

The move followed talks between General Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam (CPV) Central Committee Nguyễn Phú Trọng and US President Joe Biden at the headquarters of the CPV Central Committee in Hà Nội.

Biden is in Việt Nam for a two-day State visit at the invitation of the Vietnamese Party leader.

Party chief Trọng warmly welcomed and appreciated President Biden's visit to Việt Nam as the two countries celebrate the 10th anniversary of their Comprehensive Partnership.

The visit holds special meaning, and is an opportunity for the leaders of the two countries to discuss bilateral relations as well as international issues, contributing to peace, cooperation and sustainable development in the region and the world.

The General Secretary recalled the good memories of the sincere exchange with the then US Vice President Joe Biden when he visited the US in July 2015, appreciating the opinions exchanged between the two leaders over the past time, and thanked President Biden for the June letter inviting Trọng to soon visit the US.

General Secretary Trọng briefed the guest on Việt Nam's achievements over nearly 40 years of comprehensive đổi mới (reforms), aiming for the goals of "prosperous people, strong country, democracy, equality, and civilization", along the main orientations of economic development, social progress and justice, and the promotion of the building of a rule-of-law Socialist state, and proactive and active international integration.

Trọng also congratulated the significant socio-economic achievements of the US under the leadership of President Biden and the contributions of the US in advancing global cooperation to address major challenges in healthcare, environmental protection, climate change response, and food security.

Trọng underlined Việt Nam's consistent foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, peace, friendship, cooperation, development, diversification, and multilateralisation of foreign relations; proactive and active engagement in comprehensive, intensive and extensive international integration; and that Việt Nam is a friend, trustworthy partner, and an active and responsible member in the international community. Việt Nam follows the defence policy of "four no's."

In complex and international conflicts, Việt Nam desires all parties to engage in dialogue and peaceful resolution based on respecting the fundamental principles of international law and the United Nations (UN) Charter.

Việt Nam highly appreciates the US' support for Việt Nam's  and ASEAN's positions on the East Sea (known internationally as the South China Sea) issue.

Việt Nam requests that the US continue to support and actively contribute to peace, security, cooperation, and the guaranteeing of the freedoms of navigation and overflight, and legitimate, lawful interests of countries in the East Sea, refrain from the use or threats of force and actions that go against international law which further complicate the situation, resolve disputes peacefully, observe the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and the early signing of an effective and substantive Code of Conduct (COC) in the East Sea that is consistent with international law, including the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) of 1982.

Trọng recalled that Việt Nam had collaborated with the US in fighting against fascism during World War II. The founding father of Việt Nam, Hồ Chí Minh, quoted part of the US's Declaration of Independence at the beginning of Việt Nam's own Declaration of Independence, as well as sent a letter to the US Administration proposing the establishment of full relations with the US. However, the relationship between the two countries has experienced many ups and downs, particularly the prolonged and most devastating war after World War II in the 20th century.

Việt Nam is pleased to see that since the normalisation of relations in 1995, especially after the establishment of the Comprehensive Partnership in 2013, bilateral ties have witnessed significant, profound, substantial, and effective developments.

Based on the important foundations mentioned above, for the benefits of the people of both countries and the desire to enhance cooperation towards the goals of peace, cooperation, and sustainable development in a new context, Việt Nam welcomes the establishment of a new high-level relationship between the two countries, known as the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for Peace, Cooperation, and Sustainable Development.

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam Central Committee Nguyễn Phú Trọng and United States President Joe Biden at the press conference following their talks in Hà Nội on Sunday. — VNA/VNS Photo Trí Dũng

General Secretary Trọng and President Biden both agreed that the reality has demonstrated that the most important factors in the development of Việt Nam-US relations are total respect for the fundamental principles guiding the bilateral relationship, including respect for the UN Charter, international law, and each other's political system, independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity.

General Secretary Trọng stressed that mutual understanding, understanding of each other's circumstances, respect for each other's legitimate interests, and non-interference in each other's internal affairs are always of significant importance.

The "particular" guiding principle for the development of Việt Nam-US relations is "leaving the past behind, overcoming differences, promoting similarities, and looking towards the future."

Việt Nam highly appreciates and values the US'  support of a strong, independent, self-reliant, and prosperous Việt Nam.

The General Secretary highly appreciates the agreed-upon contents between the leaders of the two countries regarding the Joint Statement elevating Việt Nam-US relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for Peace, Cooperation, and Sustainable Development.

Accordingly, the Party leader underlined several major directions to promote Việt Nam-US relations. These include boosting mutual understanding, implementing guiding principles, improving long-term stability, promoting cooperation at various levels and sectors, and people-to-people exchanges.

The General Secretary welcomes the strong promotion of economic, trade, and investment cooperation, as well as inclusive economic growth driven by innovation, which continue to be the central foundation and driving force for bilateral relations.

Both sides have agreed on making breakthroughs in cooperation in science and technology, and the General Secretary welcomes this development.

President Biden expressed his joy at visiting Việt Nam and thanked for the warm reception extended to him and his delegation. He added that he was delighted to meet the General Secretary again.

The US leader highlighted that the visit holds historic significance not only for the bilateral relations between the two countries but also for the Indo-Pacific region and the world.

He underscored the US' commitment to supporting an open, stable, safe, interconnected, and prosperous region.

President Biden stressed the importance and position of Việt Nam in the region and highly appreciated Việt Nam's positive role in various regional and global issues, including climate change response.

The US President affirmed his support for ASEAN's centrality and expressed a desire to cooperate with Việt Nam to contribute to the unity and prosperity of ASEAN.

He stressed the importance of the East Sea for international prosperity and stability and reiterated the US' position on the East Sea. The President also emphasised the importance that the US attaches to the goals of the Indo-Pacific Economic Cooperation Framework.

President Joe Biden expressed his respect for Việt Nam and highly appreciated Việt Nam's development achievements and contributions to international affairs, as well as the leadership role of General Secretary Trọng.

The US leader declared his support for Việt Nam's development, including economic and scientific-technological cooperation in the new phase, such as the development of the electronics industry, climate change adaptation, and clean energy development.

President Biden commended the elevation of the bilateral relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, which benefits both countries as well as serves common  international interests.

Both leaders agreed that the dialogue took place in a friendly, equal, understanding, and respectful atmosphere, with in-depth, comprehensive, and fruitful exchanges.

The significant outcomes of the dialogue and President Joe Biden's visit will positively contribute to the growth of bilateral relations in the new phase, for the benefit of the people of both countries and for peace, stability, and sustainable development.

Other than special friendships with the two neighbours of Laos and Cambodia, Việt Nam currently has Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with China (2008), Russia (2012), India (2016), Republic of Korea (2022), with the latest addition of the US (2023).— VNS

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam Central Committee Nguyễn Phú Trọng (right) and United States President Joe Biden. — VNA/VNS Photo Trí Dũng