Vietnam's success is America's success.

On the morning of September 13, US Ambassador to Vietnam Marc Knapper met with the press after US President Joe Biden's visit to Vietnam. During the visit, the two countries announced the adoption of a Joint Statement, establishing a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for peace , cooperation, and sustainable development.

"It was an extraordinary couple of days. A wonderful 24 hours. Since September 10, President Joe Biden has had activities with Vietnamese leaders, including a meeting with General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, then meetings with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, and National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue. I can say that those events were very warm and sincere, and I was very moved to witness these activities," said Mr. Knapper.

"For example, when President Joe Biden met with General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong. That was their second meeting, the first was in 2015 when the General Secretary visited Washington and President Biden was still Vice President. When they reminisced about their first meeting and remembered their time in Washington, I think that showed their friendship. And that atmosphere on the second day was the same," Mr. Knapper added.

The future of the two countries is increasingly linked.

According to the Ambassador, the upgrade from a comprehensive partnership to a comprehensive strategic partnership is truly an affirmation of expectations for the relationship. "With this, we are showing that the future of the two countries is increasingly intertwined. Vietnam's success is also America's success and vice versa," said Ambassador Knapper.

According to the US Ambassador, the new relationship statement and the commitments to cooperate in many important areas between the two countries, such as science and technology, semiconductor-related fields, education and training, etc., are aimed at bringing benefits to both sides. Through this, the US also expressed its desire to participate and become a part of the process of achieving Vietnam's development goals.

"We are very pleased and satisfied with the results of the visit," said Mr. Knapper, "and we are very grateful to Vietnam, the efforts of the Vietnamese government to make this happen."

The Ambassador also shared what he considered to be particularly moving experiences during the visit.

"There was a particularly touching event, which was when the President met with the Chairman of the National Assembly of Vietnam, there was a small ceremony of exchanging artifacts from the war. There were a few American veterans there, they gave a Vietnamese veteran his diary of the war, which was extraordinary. Then we received from your side some items from Americans who were here. We also handed over some archival documents..."

These experiences were “very moving for me personally, because as you know, my father was in the war here,” Mr. Knapper said. He said the event was a highlight of the visit, because the push for reconciliation has been a cornerstone of the relationship since before normalization, and has extended from those efforts to cooperation across sectors. He said it really reflects the full scope and breadth of the relationship between the two countries, “not to mention the strong aspirations we have to further strengthen our friendship.”

The Ambassador stressed that there could not be a more profound and resolute public affirmation that our two countries are moving towards the future together. "This is truly a special visit, a special series of events. And we have a lot to do ahead."

Lots of potential in the future

Speaking about the potential to further promote the relationship in the future, Ambassador Knapper said that the upgrade firstly reflects the reality of the two countries' positions, in terms of extensive cooperation in many different fields, whether it is business investment, health, energy, climate...

After this upgrade, the two countries will continue to be able to open up business opportunities, innovate, create, and think of ways to further expand the relationship, towards even higher levels of cooperation and friendship.

The Ambassador also said that with the new cooperative position, the two countries have more open dialogue mechanisms to jointly resolve different issues in areas such as trade, investment, etc.

“I think this will continue to demonstrate the mutual respect and trust that we have for each other.”

Phuong Anh

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