Since Vietnam and the US established their diplomatic ties on July 12, 1995, the two countries have made great efforts to develop and expand cooperation. From small-scale humanitarian issues early on, bilateral ties have been expanding to cover politics, economics, education, health care, science and technology, as well as other areas such as national defence and cooperation in fighting terrorism, drug related and transnational crimes.

The two countries have regularly exchanged high-level visits. During the official visit to the US in June 2005 by Vietnamese Prime Minister Phan Van Khai, the two leaders released a joint statement affirming their desire to build a constructive, long term, stable partnership and multifaceted cooperation. The US pledged to respect Vietnam’s sovereignty and security.

At the end of the official visit to Vietnam in November 2006 by President Bush, the two countries also released a joint statement, reaffirming the above commitment and at the same time opening up new chances for cooperation in many fields.

Bilateral economic and trade cooperation has seen positive developments in recent years. The two countries have signed a number of economic agreements such as the agreement on copyright, the Vietnam-US bilateral trade agreement, the bilateral science and technology cooperation agreement, the garment and textile agreement, the aviation agreement, a framework agreement on economic and technological cooperation and the memorandum of understanding on agricultural cooperation.

Both also signed an agreement at the conclusion of negotiations on Vietnam’s entry to the World Trade Organisation. In late 2006, Congress passed legislation to maintain the permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) with Vietnam. Shortly after that President Bush signed it into law.

After the Vietnam-US Bilateral Trade Agreement came into effect on December 10, 2001, trade exchanges between the two countries have increased remarkably, reaching US$7.8 billion in 2005 – a fivefold increase from the 2001 figure. In 2006, the figure rose to US$9.7 billion, of which US$8.6 billion was generated from Vietnam’s exports and the US became Vietnam’s largest import market.  

By April 2007, the US had poured US$2.3 billion into investment projects in Vietnam, ranking eighth in the list of leading foreign investors in the country. Currently, approximately 1,000 US businesses are operating in Vietnam.

The two countries also reached cooperation agreements on science and technology, culture, education and training, healthcare and labour.

With its humanitarian tradition, Vietnam has cooperated well with the US in the search for US personnel missing in action (MIA). To date, the two countries have conducted 89 joint search operations, and Vietnam has handed over 850 sets of remains of US servicemen to the US.

The US has also cooperated with Vietnam in dealing with the aftermath of the war, including providing information relating to Vietnamese missing in action, organising an international conference on the consequences of Agent Orange (AO), carrying out programmes on landmine clearance, tree planting and support for AO victims. On May 25, 2007, Congress ratified expenditure worth US$3 million to assist Vietnam in environmental protection and healthcare. 

Progress has also been made in security and military cooperation. The two countries have continued exchanges of delegations, and US naval ships have also made regular visits to Vietnam.