Party General Secretary and President Tô Lâm met with Acting US Secretary of the Navy Hùng Cao in New York. — VNA/VNS Photo

NEW YORK — General Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam Central Committee and President Tô Lâm met with Acting US Secretary of the Navy Hùng Cao in New York on Tuesday morning (local time), as part of his trip to attend the High-Level General Debate of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly.

At the meeting, the top leader of Việt Nam expressed his pleasure at meeting Hùng Cao again and congratulated him on being nominated by US President Donald Trump to serve as Secretary of the Navy. He spoke highly of Hùng Cao’s contributions to Việt Nam-US relations, as well as his strong ties and affection for his Vietnamese homeland.

He outlined Việt Nam’s major development priorities and goals for the coming period, highlighting science and technology, innovation and digital transformation as key drivers and foundations of national development.

“Việt Nam seeks to mobilise and make effective use of domestic and international resources, while tapping knowledge, technology, management expertise and high-quality human resources to support development,” he stated.

In this context, he noted Việt Nam considers the US one of its most strategically important partners and wishes to work with the US to ensure that the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries develops in a stable, substantive, effective and sustainable manner, contributing positively to peace, stability and development in the region and beyond.

Party General Secretary and President Tô Lâm emphasised that economic and trade ties are a pillar and important driving force of bilateral relations. He expressed his hope that the two sides would promote balanced, stable and sustainable trade, swiftly resolve outstanding issues in negotiations and move toward signing a reciprocal trade agreement to create favourable conditions for the two countries’ businesses.

He also called on the US to strengthen cooperation with Việt Nam in science and technology, innovation, high technology, semiconductors, energy and supply chains, while continuing to effectively implement defence and security cooperation agreements within the framework of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, with war legacy remediation remaining a priority.

The top leader described Việt Nam’s handover to the US of artifacts from the former US Marine Corps Camp Reasoner in Đà Nẵng as a meaningful gesture carried out in a spirit of goodwill and humanitarianism, contributing to honouring the values of peace, healing and reconciliation between the two countries.

Referring to his meetings with nearly 2,000 Vietnamese expatriates and international friends during his trip, he expressed his pleasure that Vietnamese communities in the US and around the world are becoming increasingly successful and respected, with a growing social standing and significant contributions to their host countries.

He affirmed that the Party and State regard overseas Vietnamese as an inseparable part of the nation, an important national resource and a bridge of friendship between Vietnam and other countries. He expressed his hope that Hùng Cao would continue making positive contributions to Việt Nam-US relations and strengthening the ties between the Vietnamese community in the US and their homeland.

For his part, Hùng Cao said he was honoured by the trust President Trump had placed in him through a number of important responsibilities, including promoting Việt Nam-US defence relations in line with the interests and aspirations of both sides and contributing to peace, stability and development in the Asia-Pacific region.

He affirmed that the US attaches importance to its relationship with Việt Nam and supports a strong, independent, self-strengthening and prosperous Việt Nam playing an increasingly important role in the region.

He said the potential for cooperation between the two countries in such areas as economy, trade, science and technology, and defence and security is substantial. In his current capacity, he pledged to continue supporting and promoting more substantive and effective Việt Nam-US relations at the bilateral, regional and global levels.

Echoing the top leader’s assessments, Hùng Cao said defence cooperation, including maritime security cooperation, plays an important role in promoting peace and prosperity for both countries, as well as security, cooperation and development in the region.

He expressed his desire to further expand cooperation in maritime security, capacity building, humanitarian assistance, disaster response and addressing common regional challenges.

Thanking Việt Nam for its active cooperation in efforts to search for US servicemen missing in action from the war and for facilitating the handover of artifacts from the former Camp Reasoner, he reaffirmed the US commitment to supporting Việt Nam in addressing the war consequences.

Hùng Cao said he was pleased with Việt Nam’s rapid development in recent years and expressed high expectations for further breakthroughs in the years ahead.

He said he highly appreciated what he described as the historic decisions and actions taken by Party General Secretary and President Tô Lâm and other Vietnamese leaders. He affirmed that he would continue supporting and contributing to efforts to strengthen the bonds of the Vietnamese community in the US and its contributions to peace, resilience and development in Việt Nam, as well as to Việt Nam-US relations.

Party General Secretary and President Tô Lâm and Hùng Cao agreed that building on the important achievements already made, the two sides should continue to effectively implement the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, enhance mutual understanding, strengthen trust and expand mutually beneficial cooperation, thereby contributing to peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world. — VNA/NS