U.S. President Joe Biden said he has a lot of affection for Vietnam and promised to provide more support for the Southeast Asian country during his meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh earlier this week.

PM Chinh met with President Biden at the White House in Washington, D.C. on Thursday (local time) within the framework of U.S. - ASEAN Special Summit, according to the Vietnam News Agency.

During their talks, President Biden said that he personally has a lot of affection for the country and the people of Vietnam.

When he was still a senator, Biden and John McCain, his late friend and colleague, had lobbied to promote the U.S. relations with Vietnam, he added.

As a leading developed country, the U.S. is eager to cooperate with and assist developing countries in various areas, including economic and trade development, disease prevention and control, and climate change response.

President Biden stressed that his country will exert the best efforts to boost its support for Vietnam and other countries in the region in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

PM Chinh congratulated President Biden on the achievements in the first 14 months of his administration.

The Vietnam - U.S. relationship is special as the two countries have overcome the war in the past, and are actively cooperating to make the comprehensive partnership even more substantial and effective across all areas, the premier continued.

Vietnam hopes that Washington will continue to support and cooperate with Hanoi in areas such as disease prevention and control, digital transformation, diversification of supply chains, climate change response, and human resources training, PM Chinh said.

He also wished that the U.S. would strengthen cooperation with Vietnam in the development of a green and circular economy, as well as sustainable energy transition.

Both sides agreed on the need to respect independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, and political institutions of countries, refrain from the use of force, and peacefully settle disputes and conflicts on the basis of international law and the United Nations Charter.

On this occasion, PM Chinh conveyed the invitations of Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and State President Nguyen Xuan Phuc to President Biden to visit Vietnam in the coming time. 

PM Chinh and leaders of other ASEAN member countries attended a reception hosted by President Biden at the White House later the same day.

The Vietnamese prime minister is on a working visit to the U.S. from May 15 to 17.

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