Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Lê Hoài Trung meets US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington DC on Thursday. — Photo baoquocte.vn

WASHINGTON DC — Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Lê Hoài Trung held talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington DC on Thursday, during which the two sides discussed measures to further promote the Việt Nam–US relations in the future.

Trung, who is accompanying Party General Secretary Tô Lâm to the inaugural meeting of the Gaza Board of Peace, thanked Rubio for his congratulatory message to the Vietnamese Party chief and the 14th National Party Congress, noting that the Congress set out major orientations, including a foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, self-strengthening, peace, friendship, cooperation, and development, and proactive, responsible engagement in regional and global issues.

He affirmed that Việt Nam attaches importance to a stable and long-term relationship with the US for the benefit of both nations' people and for peace, stability, and development in the region and the world.

Trung highly valued the US Secretary of State’s personal support and the active cooperation of the US Department of State in effectively advancing the bilateral ties.

He proposed closer coordination to strengthen political trust, promote high-level and all-level exchanges, and expand cooperation in economy, defence-security, war consequence remediation, and science and technology.

On international and regional issues, the Vietnamese foreign minister welcomed the US’s sustained and responsible contributions to regional peace, security, and development, spoke highly of President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace initiative, and thanked the US for inviting Việt Nam to join the mechanism.

He affirmed Việt Nam’s readiness to optimise its role and advantages to work with the US and the international community to promote peace, stability, cooperation, and development in the region and the world.

For his part, Rubio congratulated Việt Nam on the success of the 14th National Party Congress, and affirmed the US's support for a strong, independent, self-reliant, and prosperous Việt Nam. He commended the country’s socio-economic achievements, and held that Việt Nam's development model is applicable to many countries.

He thanked Việt Nam for being among the first countries to accept the invitation to join the Board of Peace and for the attendance of Party General Secretary Tô Lâm at its inaugural meeting in Washington DC, saying the participation reflects Việt Nam’s increasingly proactive and active role in addressing common regional and global challenges.

The Secretary of State noted that Việt Nam–US relations rest on a solid foundation and shared interests – a fundamental factor for its future growth.

He expressed his hope that the two sides will continue to work closely together to further deepen their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in a more effective manner. Rubio hailed Trung's proposals regarding the bilateral ties, agreeing to promote exchanges and meetings between high-ranking leaders of the two countries.

Regarding economic and trade cooperation, the US side called for the early conclusion of reciprocal tariff negotiations to create a framework for stronger bilateral collaboration, alongside expanded cooperation in science and technology, defence and security for the benefit of both countries' people and for regional and global peace and stability.

The two sides also exchanged views on regional and international issues of mutual concern. Rubio spoke highly of Việt Nam’s growing role and voice at regional and multilateral forums such as ASEAN, G20, and APEC, stressing the importance of settling disputes through peaceful means on the basis of respect for the interests of all parties.

On this occasion, Trung extended his invitation to the US Secretary of State to visit Việt Nam, which Rubio gladly accepted. — VNA/VNS