Vietnam’s newly elected State President To Lam has affirmed that the Southeast Asian country always considers the U.S. as a partner of strategic importance and is ready for coordination to promote their bilateral ties extensively, effectively, and substantially.

State President Lam made the affirmation at his meeting with U.S. Ambassador Marc Knapper at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi on Thursday, according to the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

Lam asked the ambassador to extend his thanks to U.S. President Joe Biden for his congratulations on his election as the state president of Vietnam. 

Valuing Washington as its important strategic partner, Hanoi is willing to join hands with it to further promote the two sides' comprehensive strategic partnership in a deep, effective, and practical manner, the state president told Knapper. 

Such promotion will be conducted on the basis of respect for each other’s independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, and political institution so as to bring practical benefits to the two peoples and contribute to peace, stability, cooperation, and development in the region and the world in general, he elaborated. 

The two nations should strengthen economic, trade, and investment cooperation, making it a driving force behind bilateral relations, Lam suggested.

He also underscored the need to gradually expand cooperation in security and defense, including collaboration in cybersecurity and terrorism and transnational crime combat. 

The leader called for the U.S.’s continued support for Vietnam in overcoming war aftermaths, adapting to climate change, and developing high-quality human resources.

The two sides should continue to cooperate closely and effectively at multilateral and regional mechanisms such as the United Nations, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), among others, Lam said.  

He suggested jointly preparing plans for the celebration of 30 years of diplomatic relations in 2025.

The Vietnamese state leader highly appreciated the ambassador’s contributions to fostering the Vietnam-U.S. ties and asked him to continue his support.

On behalf of the U.S. leaders and people, Knapper reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to consistently support a strong, independent, self-reliant, and prosperous Vietnam.

After nearly 30 years of diplomatic relations, the two countries have achieved important and substantive progress in all fields, the ambassador commented, expressing his confidence that the two sides will gain more achievements in the coming time.

Agreeing to Lam’s suggestions, Knapper affirmed that he and other U.S. representative agencies in Vietnam will continue joining hands with local authorities to effectively implement the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries in the coming time.

The U.S. highly values and advocates the central role of ASEAN in the regional structure and is committed to continuing to boost the ASEAN-U.S. Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and the Mekong-U.S. Partnership, the ambassador stated.  

He also stressed that the U.S. will coordinate with Vietnam in addressing regional and international issues of mutual concern, actively contributing to peace, stability, cooperation, and development in the region. 

Vietnam and the U.S. normalized their diplomatic relations in July 1995 and entered into a comprehensive partnership in July 2013. 

Ten years later, both sides lifted their ties directly to a comprehensive strategic partnership on September 10, 2023, skipping the strategic partnership level, during U.S. President Biden's two-day official visit to Vietnam.

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