Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Phạm Bình Minh (R) meets US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale in New York on Thursday. — VNA/VNS Photo Hoài Thanh

NEW YORK — Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Phạm Bình Minh had bilateral meetings with foreign leaders on the sidelines of the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 74) in New York on Thursday.
At a reception for US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale, Minh affirmed that Việt Nam attached great importance to the relations with the US and wanted to further promote the bilateral ties as the two countries are to mark the 25th anniversary of the normalisation of their relations in 2020.

Minh proposed that the two sides strengthen contact and dialogues, especially at the high level, as well as further deepen and expand partnerships in trade-investment, security-defence, and enhance cooperation in regional and international issues.

The US official expressed his pleasure at the growing comprehensive partnership between the two countries in recent years and hoped the two sides would deepen relations in all fields.

He affirmed the US’s commitment to peace, security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region, saying the US had interests in ensuring rules-based order, freedom, security and safety of navigation and aviation in the East Sea.

He hoped Việt Nam and the US would maintain all-level delegation exchanges, hold regular consultations and coordinate at bilateral and multilateral forums.

Deputy PM Minh also held bilateral meetings with Prime Minister of Uganda Ruhakana Rugunda, Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines Ralph Everard Gonsalves, and Algerian Foreign Minister Sabri Boukadoum, who all congratulated Việt Nam on its election as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for 2020-21.

They proposed measures to increase the exchange of delegations and promote cooperation in economy, trade, investment, people-to-people exchanges, and coordination at multilateral forums. — VNS