US Senate confirms Marc Knapper as ambassador to Vietnam

During a hearing at the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee in July, Knapper said that the US and Vietnam were developing the comprehensive partnership and he expected this relationship would soon be lifted to a strategic partnership.

He said promoting security cooperation between the two countries is a top priority during his term.

Knapper currently serves as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Japan and Korea in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs of the Department of State.

In April, Knapper was nominated by President Joe Biden to be the US Ambassador to Vietnam.

According to the State Department, Knapper has spent almost his entire career, spanning over 25 years, working on the policy issues of the East Asian region and studying its languages and culture.

He speaks Vietnamese and for three years led the political section of the US Embassy in Hanoi.

This extensive and substantive experience in the region, coupled with his demonstrated ability to lead large interagency teams as well as policy-oriented offices, makes him an excellent candidate to be the US Ambassador to Vietnam.

Knapper’s other assignments include leadership positions in the US Embassy in Baghdad (Iraq), and the US Embassy in Tokyo (Japan).

Earlier, Knapper served in the Office of China and Mongolia Affairs in the State Department, and he also had two previous assignments in the US Embassy in Seoul.

He also served as Ambassador Walter Mondale’s Aide in the US Embassy in Tokyo.