Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Seek Strategic Upgrade of US-Vietnam Ties

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Photo: AP

Ambassador Pham Quang Vinh, former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, former Ambassador of Vietnam to the US discussed the visit of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

The most extensive, effective, and practical stage of development

Recently, many high-ranking US delegations have come to Vietnam, along with the visit of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, what do we expect?

The US State Department is also informed about the purpose of the visit. It was the 10th anniversary of the Vietnam-US Comprehensive Partnership, the exchange of all areas of bilateral and regional cooperation with Vietnam.

The visit comes on the occasion of the two countries celebrating the 10th anniversary of their comprehensive partnership. The 10 years of comprehensive partnership (2013-2023) is the most extensive, fastest, most substantive and effective development period in the 28 years of Vietnam-US relations .

This is a period of great breakthroughs in both politics, foreign relations, economic cooperation, trade, investment and other fields such as national security, science and technology, education.

US Secretary of State Blinken’s visit comes just two weeks after a high-level phone call between General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and US President Joe Biden.

I believe that during this visit, the two sides will look back and review the bilateral relationship, and prepare to implement specific orientations on the future relationship. This is also the most practical part of the 10th anniversary of the Vietnam-US Comprehensive Partnership.

Looking to the future but not the past

What do you think when you look back over the 10-year period when the two sides established the Comprehensive Partnership?

From 2013 to now, the US has had 3 presidents – from Barack Obama to Donald Trump to President Biden.

In relations with Vietnam, the United States always mentions the principle of respecting each other’s political institutions. This principle belongs to the US, not to any presidential term. The US also emphasizes its support for a strong, independent and prosperous Vietnam. In the above high-level phone conversation, “self-strengthening” was added.

All pillars of the Vietnam-US Comprehensive Partnership are developed, especially in terms of economy and trade.

I remember at the beginning of my term – in 2014 as Vietnam’s Ambassador to the US (more than a year after the two sides established the Comprehensive Partnership), the two countries’ trade reached US$36 billion.

By the time, I finished my term in mid-2018, it was about US$70 billion (that’s almost double). And today, by the end of 2022, the two countries’ trade has reached US$123 billion.

Thus, in the 10 years of the Comprehensive Partnership, the two countries’ trade has tripled. That is, in economic and trade relations, the two sides can complement each other and have great development potential. Continuously in the past 10 years, the growth rate of two-way trade between the two countries has always reached 17-19%/year.

Ambassador Pham Quang Vinh: ‘I look forward to the relationship of the US Secretary of State with Vietnam, with the relationship between the two countries’. Photo: Le Anh Dung

The story of cooperation in overcoming the consequences of war can be mentioned. The United States appreciates Vietnam’s humanitarian cooperation in efforts to resolve the consequences of the war, including the search for the remains of American soldiers.

This is also a motivation for the US side to recognize its responsibilities in humanitarian cooperation with Vietnam, especially in the issue of demining, supporting the disabled during the war, cooperate in identifying the missing Vietnamese soldiers and finally dioxin detoxification.

New chapter in bilateral relations

When Blinken was the First Deputy Secretary of the US Department of State, he had twice been to Vietnam, and after that, two major visits: the historic visit of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong to the US (2015) and President Obama’s visit to Vietnam (2016); and now this visit. What do you think about this event?

I find it quite charming. During the time of President Obama, Antony Blinken, who was the First Deputy Secretary of the State Department, visited Vietnam about 1-2 months before the two major visits mentioned above.

Notably, in May 2015, Antony Blinken visited Vietnam about a month before a historic event in the relationship between the two countries. It was the first visit of a General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam to the US (early July 2015).

At that time, meeting with the press on May 19, 2015, Blinken called General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong’s visit to the US and meeting President Obama at the White House “a historic visit.”

He also said the US is looking forward to the visit and considers it a strong message about the future of relations between the two countries, as well as about the relationship developing – from former enemies to partners.

On July 6, 2015, just one day before General Secretary Nguyen Phu In met President Obama at the White House, Antony Blinken published an opportunity commentary titled “Strategic to promote US-Vietnam relations”. He considers the General Secretary’s visit to open a new chapter in the relationship between the two countries.

I look forward to the US Secretary of State’s “charm” with Vietnam, with the relationship between the two countries.

Rosie Nguyen

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