Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Phạm Bình Minh (r) receives US Ambassador to Việt Nam Daniel Kritenbrink in Hà Nội yesterday.— VNA/VNS Photo Dương Giang

HÀ NỘI — Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Phạm Bình Minh received US Ambassador to Việt Nam Daniel Kritenbrink in Hà Nội yesterday, highly valuing his guest’s role in promoting the two countries’ comprehensive partnership.

Minh expressed his delight at the substantive progress in bilateral relations in 2018, noting frequent meetings and delegation exchanges, the dynamic development of economic ties with US exports to Việt Nam, good co-ordination under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, and progress on security and defence co-operation and the settlement of the consequences of war.

The two sides had completed a project on environmental remediation of dioxin contamination at Đà Nẵng Airport and were carrying out a similar project at Biên Hòa Airport of Đồng Nai Province.

The Fulbright University Việt Nam project was also being implemented well, he added.

Minh applauded the close co-ordination between the US Embassy and the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry, and said the two countries continued to work closely in politics-diplomacy, economy-trade, security-defence and international issues.

At the meeting, Ambassador Kritenbrink highlighted the upward trend of bilateral relations since the trip to the US by Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc and the visit to Việt Nam by President Donald Trump in 2017. He also hailed the outcomes of the meeting between US Vice President Mike Pence and PM Phúc on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit in Singapore last November.

The diplomat thanked the Government, ministries and sectors for promoting the two countries’ connections.

He noted that US enterprises attached importance to the Vietnamese market and wanted to continue expanding their investment and business activities here.

The US considered Việt Nam a leading partner in the region and wished to develop relations with the country as well as ASEAN for peace, co-operation and development. It also hoped to strengthen collaboration in issues relating to the Mekong sub-region, the freedom and safety of navigation and aviation in the East Sea, and the implementation of the United Nations Security Council’s resolutions, Kritenbrink said.

On this occasion, the ambassador conveyed President Trump’s New Year greetings to Party General Secretary, President Nguyễn Phú Trọng and PM Phúc. — VNS