Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính meets with US Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez as part of his trip to the US for the high-level week of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly and bilateral activities. — VNA/VNS Photo Dương Giang

WASHINGTON DC  The establishment of the Việt Nam-US Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for peace, cooperation and sustainable development will open up a new period for the enhancement of bilateral relations across spheres, including cooperation between the two legislative bodies, Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính said at a meeting with leaders of the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations in Washington DC on Tuesday. 

During the meeting, part of his trip to the US for the high-level week of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly and bilateral activities, Chính affirmed that Việt Nam considers the US a partner of strategic importance.

He used the occasion to thank the US Senate in general and its Foreign Relations Committee in particular for their support for promoting the Việt Nam-US relations over the past time, including the settlement of war consequences.

The support and cooperation of the two countries’ legislatures plays a crucial role in concretising new collaboration frameworks and areas of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in the time ahead, the leader stressed.

Chính called on the committee to further support joint efforts in fostering cooperation in economy-trade-investment, and other fields like science-technology, innovation, semiconductor industry, energy transition, and climate change response, while stepping up assistance to Việt Nam in war consequence settlement.

For his part, Chairman of the committee Senator Bob Menendez and other committee members noted with pleasure the establishment of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for peace, cooperation and sustainable development on the occasion of the recent visit to Việt Nam by President Joe Biden, saying it is expected to bring about tangible benefits to people of both nations.

Praising socio-economic achievements Việt Nam has recorded over the past time, they said the country has played an increasingly important role with significant voice in the region.

The senators agreed with the Vietnamese PM that the two countries should continue to enhance cooperation in such key areas as economy-trade, high-tech, education-training, human resources development, climate change response, war legacy settlement and people-to-people exchange.

The two sides also exchanged views on regional and international issues of shared concern, and agreed on the need to promote the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEA)’s centrality, and strengthen the ASEAN-US comprehensive strategic partnership as well as the Mekong-US relationship. – VNS