Mr Quoc made the statement at a meeting in HCM City on June 30 to mark the 234^th anniversary of the US Independence Day (July 4) and the 15^th anniversary of normalisation of Vietnam-US relations.

He said two-way trade turnover has increased sharply from tens of millions of US dollars initially to more than US$15 billion in late 2009, and the biggest US has now become biggest investor in Vietnam.

Educational and training cooperation has also developed well, Mr Hung noted, adding that both Vietnam and the US have regularly held open and frank dialogues on humanitarian assistance, natural disaster control, anti-terrorism and anti-drug trafficking, border and maritime security, non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and peace-keeping activities.

Remarkable progress has also been made in joint efforts to deal with post-war issues, he said.

US Acting Consul General in HCM City, Angela Dickey said relations between Vietnam and the US are developing more strongly than ever through exchange visits and meetings between leaders, representatives from non-governmental organisations and entrepreneurs from both countries.

On the occasion, the Vietnam-US Association in HCM City has set its branch at Hong Bang University and a club for Vietnamese postgraduates in the US to expand activities run by the association and the Union of Friendship Organisations in HCM City.