Vietnam, US establish comprehensive partnership

The Vietnamese and US Presidents reached the decision during their talks on July 25 at the White House during President Truong Tan Sang’s on-going official visit to the US.

President Barack Obama affirmed that the US attaches importance to the US-Vietnam relationship and Vietnam’s role in the region. He expressed wish that the relations between the two countries will continue to see strong development in the time to come.

The US continues to give importance to the Asian-Pacific region in its overall strategy, including the ASE AN’s central role in the forming regional architecture as well as in sub-regional cooperation mechanisms, he said.

President Obama also said the US wants to boost relations with ASEAN as well as other US partners in Northeast Asia.

President Sang affirmed that Vietnam welcomes the US strengthening cooperation with Asia -the Pacific for peace, stability and prosperity of the region. He stressed that Vietnam attaches importance to and hopes to continue boosting its relations with the US.

The two sides agreed that the relations between the two countries have seen extensive and in-depth development in various aspects, both bilaterally and multilaterally, creating the foundation for a new period of development.

On such basis, the two leaders decided on establishing the Vietnam-US comprehensive partnership, which will create a new framework for their cooperation in the fields of politics-diplomacy, economics-trade, science-technology, education-training, the environment-health care, humanitarian cooperation-overcoming war aftermath, defence-security, protection and promotion of human rights, and culture-sport-tourism.

The two leaders believed that the Vietnam-US comprehensive partnership will not only better serve the interests of both countries but also contribute to peace, stability, cooperation and development in Asia -the Pacific and the world at large.

The two leaders discussed measures to make bilateral ties deeper, more practical and productive in the coming time, including increasing the exchange of high-ranking visits and setting up new cooperation mechanisms or upgrading existing mechanisms.

They welcomed the establishment of the regular dialogue mechanism between the Foreign Minister of Vietnam and the US Secretary of State.

The two sides also stressed that economic, trade and investment cooperation serves as the foundation and driving force of the Vietnam-US comprehensive partnership while affirming their commitment to completing the TPP negotiation at the earliest possible time this year, taking into account the difference in development levels of each country within the framework of a balanced and comprehensive agreement.

President Obama lauded Vietnam’s economic reform achievements, saying he agreed to strengthen economic, trade and investment cooperation by means of the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) as well as the US-ASEAN Expanded Economic Engagement (E3) and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.

He also acknowledged Vietnam’s interest in the US’s recognition of its market economy.

The two leaders agreed to boost science-technology cooperation, especially in nuclear energy, space technology and marine research.

The two sides also agreed to enhance bilateral cooperation in other sectors, such as education, defence-security, humanitarian activities to overcome war consequences, as well as strengthen coordination in regional and international forums like APEC, ARF, EAS and ADMM+.

The two leaders reiterated support of the resolution of East Sea issues by peaceful measures in accordance with international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

They re-affirmed their backing of the principle of not using force or threatening the use of force to settle sea and territorial disputes.

The two leaders stressed the value of the full implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) between ASEAN and China and the significance of the start of negotiations towards achieving an effective Code of Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (COC).

The two sides exchanged views on issues of differences, including human rights; agreeing to strengthen mutual understanding and narrow differences through constructive dialogues and mutual respect so as not to let the problem affect the developing relations between the two countries.

During their talks, President Sang mentioned to President Obama a letter the late President Ho Chi Minh sent to US President Harry Truman on February 16, 1946, which expressed the wish that Vietnam wants to be “completely independent” and establish “full cooperation” with the US (the original letter is being kept at the US National Archives and Records Administration).

On this occasion, President Sang invited his US counterpart to visit Vietnam at convenient time. President Obama accepted the invitation with pleasure.

After their talks President Sang and President Obama met with the press. The two sides issued a joint statement on the Vietnam-US relations.

The same day, President Truong Tan Sang met the President pro-tempore of the US Senate Patrick Leahy, as part of his visit to the US at the invitation of President Barack Obama.

President Sang spoke highly of the role of Senator Leahy and the US Senate in boosting the relationship between Vietnam and the US and thanked the Senator for his support of the process of normalisation and development of the two countries’ relationship, including the signing of the Bilateral Trade
Agreement (BTA), the US granting of permanent normal trade regulations (PNTR) for Vietnam and provision of funding to deal with the consequences of Agent Orange (AO)/Dioxin.

Sang asked Senator Leahy to continue promoting bilateral relations in the coming time, such as supporting the establishment of the annual dialogue mechanism between the two legislative bodies and the re-establishment of the congress group for relations between Vietnam and the US.  He also called for the senator’s support for Vietnam in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TTP) negotiations and US recognition of the market economy in Vietnam. The President asked for Senator Leahy’s help in removing barriers to bilateral trade including the new catfish monitoring programs under the 2013 Farm Act, seeking a complete end to the arms embargo against Vietnam, increasing support for Vietnam to overcome war aftermath, and preventing the adoption of bills and resolutions unfavourable to the development of bilateral relations.

The US Senate President pro tempore voiced his pleasure at the outcomes of the talks between President Sang and President Obama, especially the establishment of a comprehensive partnership between the two countries, adding that the new framework for bilateral ties’ development in the coming time is very necessary and timely.

Senator Leahy took note of President Sang’s proposals on bilateral ties, especially those on boosting dialogues between the two countries’ legislative bodies and dealing with the consequences of AO/ dioxin.

The senator added the US Senate always pays much attention to situation in the East Asia-Pacific region and supports President Obama administration’s rebalancing policy, ASEAN’s central role in the evolving regional architecture as well as Vietnam’s active and positive role in the bloc, and in regional and international issues.

He welcomed Vietnam’s participation in the UN peacekeeping forces in 2014 and the Convention against Torture soon.

The US senator reaffirmed that the US Senate is against the use of force or threat of force or constrained measures in dealing with disputes in the East Sea and the East China Sea.

The US Senate backs the resolution of disputes by peaceful means in line with international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and supports the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and advancing to a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC), he said.

President Sang also paid a visit to the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) where he delivered a key speech. The Vietnamese leader and his entourage then left the US capital city of Washington DC for New York.