US Ambassador Daniel J. Kritenbrink, Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Vũ Đức Đam and President of the Việt Nam Union of Friendship Organizations Nguyễn Phương Nga welcomed the guests in a ceremony held Monday in Hà Nội to mark 25 years of Việt Nam-US ties. — VNA/VNS Photo Văn Điệp

HÀ NỘI — The Việt Nam Union of Friendship Organisations held a ceremony on Wednesday night to mark the 25th anniversary of Việt Nam-US diplomatic ties.

Addressing the event in Hà Nội, Deputy Prime Minister Vũ Đức Đam said the normalisation of Việt Nam-US diplomatic relations was an important decision of the countries’ leaders, which closed a period full of difficulties and heralded a promising era.

The Việt Nam-US comprehensive partnership has been developing extensively, from politics-diplomacy, economy-trade and defence-security to science-technology, health care and education. Bilateral trade has increased 170-fold since 1995 to approximately US$80 billion. Meanwhile, people-to-people exchanges are increasingly vibrant, he said.

The official described co-operation in different fields as an important bridge for building and consolidating trust, goodwill and durable friendship between the two countries.

He highlighted Việt Nam’s foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, and diverse and multilateral diplomatic relations, noting that the country considers the US a partner of leading importance in its foreign policy.

This year, when Việt Nam is serving as the ASEAN Chair and a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for 2020-21, the two sides have co-ordinated closely in issues of common concern at regional and international forums, Đam said, adding that they have also been working with the international community to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic and other global challenges.

He said he appreciated contributions by generations of leaders, politicians, organisations and individuals of Việt Nam and the US to bilateral connections.

He stressed that Việt Nam will work with the US in expanding and intensifying their bilateral comprehensive partnership, making contributions to the countries’ development as well as regional and global peace, stability and development.

At the ceremony, US Ambassador Daniel J. Kritenbrink described his country’s relations with Việt Nam as impressive, noting that they have been co-operating closely with each other in all aspects, from security, trade, education and post-war issues to energy and health care.

Rapidly growing trade ties and US businesses’ increasing investment in Việt Nam have generated numerous economic achievements for both sides, he said, adding that the US remains one of the biggest export destinations of Việt Nam, which in turn is among the markets with the fastest growth of imports from the US.

The diplomat said that both countries have the responsibility of continuing to develop their relations based on mutual trust and friendship, expressing his wish that bilateral ties will keep flourishing. — VNS