Prime Minister Lê Minh Hưng and Jennifer Wicks, US Ambassador to Việt Nam, in Hà Nội on Monday. VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Prime Minister Lê Minh Hưng received in Hà Nội on Monday Jennifer Wicks, US Ambassador to Việt Nam, who paid a courtesy call at the start of her diplomatic tenure in the country.

The Government leader reaffirmed that Việt Nam consistently regards the US as one of its most important partners, supports the US playing a constructive role in promoting peace, stability, and prosperity in the region and the world, and wishes to elevate the Việt Nam–US comprehensive strategic partnership to a new level for the benefit of the two countries' people.

The PM suggested that Wicks and the embassy continue serving as a bridge to promote high-level exchanges and work closely with Vietnamese ministries, sectors, and localities to advance substantive cooperation. He also called for candid dialogue on remaining differences in a spirit of mutual respect, ensuring that outstanding issues do not affect the overall momentum of bilateral relations.

PM Hưng stressed the need to strengthen economic and trade cooperation in a harmonious, sustainable, and mutually beneficial manner. He urged both sides to promptly resolve outstanding issues and complete negotiations and sign a reciprocal, fair, and balanced trade agreement, providing a stable framework for businesses of both countries to expand investment and operations.

Việt Nam is accelerating administrative reform and improving its legal framework to make it more transparent and modern, thereby creating a more favourable business environment for US companies, while remaining ready to address their legitimate concerns, he said.

On defence and security, PM Hưng proposed expanding cooperation in law enforcement, humanitarian assistance, cybersecurity, and combating transnational crime. He thanked the US for its support in addressing the consequences of war and called for continued assistance in dioxin remediation, unexploded ordnance clearance, support for people with disabilities, and the sharing of archival records and DNA identification technology to assist Việt Nam's efforts to locate and identify the remains of fallen soldiers. He also reaffirmed Việt Nam's commitment to accounting for US personnel missing in action during the war.

The leader further proposed expanding cooperation in science and technology, innovation, human resource development, digital transformation, education and training, and people-to-people exchanges.

For her part, Wicks said the US highly values its relationship with Việt Nam and conveyed the message that the US is proud to be a partner of Việt Nam, together with the appreciation, from President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to Việt Nam's senior leaders for their congratulations on the 250th anniversary of Independence Day of the US.

She said her priorities in Việt Nam would align with those of President Trump while also reflecting the shared interests of both countries.

The ambassador stressed that economic and trade cooperation would remain a top priority during her tenure and expressed her hope that both sides would maintain active engagement to conclude a high-standard, reciprocal, fair, and balanced trade agreement, creating greater opportunities for investment and economic ties.

She commended the Vietnamese Government's efforts to improve the legal framework and business environment and pledged to work closely with relevant agencies to advance specific cooperation projects, address outstanding issues in a constructive spirit, and expand collaboration in areas where the two countries have complementary strengths.

Wicks noted that there remains considerable potential for cooperation in maritime security, law enforcement, and addressing transnational security challenges. She reaffirmed the US commitment to cooperation in overcoming the consequences of war, describing it as an important humanitarian foundation of bilateral relations, and expressed the hope for expanding programmes on dioxin remediation, mine clearance, support for people with disabilities, the search for and identification of Vietnamese fallen soldiers, and the repatriation of the remains of missing US servicemen.

She pledged to work with relevant US agencies to maintain attention and resources for these programmes while strengthening coordination with Vietnamese ministries and agencies to effectively implement agreed areas of cooperation.

The ambassador also highlighted the importance of people-to-people exchanges and expressed the desire to broaden cooperation in education, science and technology, and innovation. She said the US is ready to support Việt Nam's development goals under Politburo Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW, strengthen partnerships between US and Vietnamese universities, and accompany Việt Nam in improving English-language education.

Wicks also pledged to promote bilateral cooperation on regional and international issues of mutual concern, expressed appreciation for Việt Nam's role, and voiced her hope for closer coordination within the Gaza Board of Peace framework. — VNA/VNS