President Võ Văn Thưởng and spouse departed from San Francisco on November 17 (US time), wrapping up US trip to attend APEC Economic Leaders' Week and bilateral activities. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — President Võ Văn Thưởng, his spouse, and the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation arrived in Hà Nội on Sunday morning, concluding their US trip for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ Week and bilateral activities at the invitation of US President Joe Biden.

The success of the trip has a significant meaning in Việt Nam's external relations both bilaterally and multilaterally, contributing to maintaining and reinforcing the external relations situation of peace and stability for national development.

Within the APEC Leaders’ Week and related events, President Thưởng conducted a series of activities, including discussions, working sessions, and bilateral meetings.

He attended and addressed the 30th APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting and delivered a speech at the APEC CEO Summit. The Vietnamese leader had working sessions with representatives from the US-APEC Business Coalition, and Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) partner nations.

The President participated in a dialogue between APEC leaders and representatives of APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC).

He joined other APEC leaders in a dialogue and a working lunch with guests, and attended a retreat of APEC economic leaders. The President also had a conversation with leaders of Vietnamese firms having exhibition booths at the APEC Leaders’ Week.

He also had meetings with leaders of APEC economies and guests.

President Thưởng had separate meetings with Sultan Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and Peruvian President Dina Ercilia Boluarte Zegarra.

At the meetings, leaders of economies and guests hailed the role and position of Việt Nam, and agreed to increase delegation exchanges as well as partnership in politics-diplomacy, economy-trade, science-technology, education-training, and locality-to-locality and people-to-people relations with Việt Nam, pledging to strengthen mutual support at regional and international forums.

For bilateral activities, President Thuong received Governor of California Gavin Newsom, Deputy Mayor of Los Angeles city Erin Bromaghim.

He attended and delivered a speech at a roundtable connecting Vietnamese and US businesses and localities in high technology, and received representatives from leading US firms in aviation and technology - Boeing and Apple.

The State leader also met officials from Vietnamese diplomatic representative agencies in the US, and visited Stanford University's hospital.

Particularly, President Thưởng had a policy discussion at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). His speech about the global situation, the foreign policy of Việt Nam and the Việt Nam-US relations at the CRF was highly evaluated by circles in the US.

Commenting on President Thưởng's speech and discussions at the CRF, American historian Prof. Larry Berman, author of many books on Việt Nam, said that the Vietnamese President has a successful conversation, giving straightforward answers to questions mentioning core contents in Việt Nam's foreign policies.

Lauding the outcomes of the Vietnamese leader's four-day trip to the US with a large number of bilateral and multilateral activities, Berman held that President Thưởng's participation at the APEC Leaders’ Week and bilateral activities with the US affirmed the special position in the world arena, while showing the urgency of implementing commitments of the Việt Nam-US comprehensive strategic partnership.

The expert emphasised the need for the two sides to turn commitments into action. — VNS