General Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam (CPV) Central Committee and State President Tô Lâm (right) receives Admiral Samuel Paparo, Commander of the United States Pacific Command in Hà Nội on Wednesday. — VNA/VNS Photo Thống Nhất

HÀ NỘI — General Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam (CPV) Central Committee and State President Tô Lâm on Wednesday hosted a reception for Admiral Samuel Paparo, Commander of the United States Pacific Command (USPACOM), who is on a visit to Việt Nam.

Welcoming Paparo, the top leader said the visit, together with recent trips to Việt Nam by US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Acting Secretary of the Navy Hùng Cao, demonstrated that defence cooperation continues to serve as an important pillar of bilateral ties, helping deepen the Việt Nam–US Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in a substantive and effective manner while contributing to peace and development in the region and the world.

He highly evaluated the long-standing cooperation between USPACOM and Việt Nam, highlighting humanitarian partnership programmes such as Pacific Partnership, Pacific Angel and Pacific Friendship, which have left positive impressions on local communities.

Reaffirming that Việt Nam considers the US one of its top strategic partners, General Secretary and President Lâm expressed his hope that both sides will continue to effectively implement the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership framework, thereby  developing the bilateral relations in a more substantive, practical and effective way for the benefit of the two nations' people.

The Vietnamese leader thanked US President Donald Trump for the warm reception during his attendance at the inauguration of the Board of Peace in February 2026.

He also reiterated his invitation to the US President to pay an official visit to Việt Nam and attend the APEC Economic Leaders’ Week in 2027.

Sharing President Trump's view on the need to conclude negotiations on a reciprocal trade agreement at an early date, General Secretary and President Lâm called on the US to soon conclude the Section 301 investigation and avoid extreme trade remedy measures that could negatively affect the overall bilateral relations.

He proposed the two countries expand mutually beneficial cooperation in science and technology, stressing that breakthroughs in science and technology, innovation and national digital transformation are among Việt Nam’s top priorities in achieving its long-term growth objectives.

Regarding defence and security cooperation, the Vietnamese leader welcomed the positive progress made in recent times and suggested both sides effectively implement existing agreements in line with each country’s needs and interests.

Highlighting the profound significance of cooperation in addressing war consequences, he urged the US to maintain and expand support projects in this field, particularly initiatives to strengthen forensic identification capacity and provide records and archives to accelerate the search, recovery and identification of Vietnamese war martyrs’ remains.

General Secretary and President Lâm reaffirmed Việt Nam’s commitment to continuing to facilitate efforts to search for US personnel missing in action (MIA), noting that Việt Nam has consistently supported this humanitarian cooperation for more than half a century.

For his part, Paparo thanked Việt Nam for being among the first countries to join the Board of Peace initiative and reaffirmed that the US attaches great importance to advancing relations with Việt Nam.

He praised Việt Nam’s growing international standing and increasingly important role within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the regional architecture.

Sharing the Vietnamese leader’s assessment, he underscored the vision of a free, open and secure Indo-Pacific and reaffirmed the US’s commitment to strengthening ties with ASEAN while supporting ASEAN's centrality.

He described the bloc, with a population of around 800 million and strong economic potential, as an increasingly important partner in the US's regional policy.

Paparo agreed with the Vietnamese leader’s proposals on further advancing the bilateral ties and pledged that USPACOM would continue working closely with Việt Nam in implementing humanitarian assistance, disaster relief and maritime law enforcement capacity-building programmes.

Thanking Việt Nam for its effective humanitarian support in searching for US personnel missing in action, he reaffirmed the US's commitment to assisting Việt Nam in overcoming the consequences of war, including supporting the country's 500-day campaign to search for, recover and identify the remains of Vietnamese martyrs.

Discussing regional and international issues, the two sides stressed the importance of maintaining peace, security, safety and freedom of navigation and aviation, while supporting the peaceful settlement of disputes in accordance with international law, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

General Secretary and President Lâm expressed his confidence that Việt Nam-US relations would continue to develop in a stable and substantive manner, contributing to shared prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region. — VNA/VNS