US President Joe Biden spoke at the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. — XINHUA/VNA Photo

NEW YORK — US President Joe Biden praised the relationship with Việt Nam in his final speech to world leaders at the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly held in New York on September 24 (US time).

In outlining his administration's achievements along with recalling his own political life, which began in 1972 when he was first elected to office in the US as a senator, the time when the Việt Nam War was still ongoing.

"I was 29 years old. Back then, we were living through an inflection point, a moment of tension and uncertainty. The world was divided by the Cold War. The Middle East was headed toward war. America was at war in Việt Nam, and at that point, the longest war in America’s history.

"Our country was divided and angry, and there were questions about our staying power and our future. But even then, I entered public life not out of despair but out of optimism."

The US leader said his country, and the world, "got through that moment," not without significant setbacks, and eventually ending the war in Việt Nam, and bringing an end to the Cold War.

He recalled last year's trip to Hà Nội, where he met with the Vietnamese leadership, and together with the late General Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam Central Committee Nguyễn Phú Trọng, the two sides have upgraded the relationship to "the highest level", Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

"It’s a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the capacity for reconciliation that today the United States and Việt Nam are partners and friends, and it’s proof that even from the horrors of war there is a way forward. Things can get better," President Biden remarked, adding that this should not be forgotten.

The two countries will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the diplomatic relations in 2025, while September this year also marks the full one-year anniversary since the elevation of partnership.

The top Vietnamese leader, Party chief & President Tô Lâm, in the ongoing trip to the US to attend the UN General Assembly meeting, has described Việt Nam-US relations as "a rare process and a model for international relations in post-war healing and relations building."

Although the two countries had their first exchanges more than two centuries ago, they had to go through many challenges and ups and downs, from former enemies in the war, to become friends and develop their relationship to a comprehensive partnership in 2013, he said.

After 10 years of implementing the comprehensive partnership with important steps achieved in strengthening trust and enhancing mutual understanding, the framework has created a solid foundation for the two countries to upgrade their relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership for peace, cooperation and sustainable development in 2023 as President Hồ Chí Minh wished.

Lâm underlined that this result is the crystallisation of countless efforts to heal and build lasting trust over three decades by many generations of leaders, administrations, parliaments and people of the two countries. — VNS

Việt Nam - US trade relations. — VNA/VNS Infographic