Minister of Foreign Affairs Lê Hoài Trung presents the Friendship order to US ambassador to Việt Nam Marc Evans Knapper at a ceremony in Hà Nội on Tuesday. — Photo baoquocte.vn

HÀ NỘI — US ambassador to Việt Nam Marc Evans Knapper on Tuesday received Việt Nam’s Friendship Order for his contributions to consolidating and strengthening the friendship and cooperation between the two countries during his tenure in Việt Nam.

The honour was presented by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lê Hoài Trung, on behalf of State President Lương Cường, at a ceremony in Hà Nội.

The Order is a prestigious award of the Vietnamese State bestowed upon foreign individuals and collectives for their significant contributions to fostering friendship, solidarity and cooperation between Việt Nam and other countries.

At the reception for the outgoing ambassador following the ceremony, Trung appreciated his important contributions to advancing Việt Nam–US relations, particularly the upgrading of bilateral ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in September 2023.

He affirmed that the Ambassador’s proactive role helped generate strong momentum for cooperation across fields, notably politics-diplomacy, trade-economy, defence-security, education-training, science-technology, humanitarian efforts, and post-war recovery.

The minister stressed that Việt Nam attaches great importance to the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with the US and called for continued close coordination to effectively implement high-level agreements on the basis of mutual respect for each country’s independence, sovereignty, and interests, for peace, cooperation, and development regionally and globally.

For his part, Knapper thanked the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and relevant agencies for their close cooperation and support over the past four years, expressing pride in having contributed to the strong development of bilateral relations. He affirmed that he, in any role, will remain a friend of Việt Nam and continue to support the growth of Việt Nam–US ties. — VNA/VNS