Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs: Vietnam Joint Statement

On the afternoon of September 14, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ha Kim Ngoc answered the press's questions about the State visit to Vietnam by US President Joe Biden from September 10-11, at the invitation of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong.

- Could you please evaluate the results of US President Joe Biden's visit to Vietnam?

The visit took place as planned and was a great success. As you all know, President Joe Biden initially invited General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong to visit the US. However, due to unfavorable conditions, the General Secretary was unable to make the visit and sent a letter inviting President Biden to visit Vietnam.

To carry out the visit to Vietnam, the US side made unprecedented efforts, adjusting the foreign affairs programs of both the President and Vice President.

The President sent his Vice President to attend the East Asia Summit in Indonesia in his place and he himself had to shorten the G20 meeting in India to visit Vietnam.

The two sides issued a Joint Statement upgrading the relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership and setting out major directions for cooperation in the next 10 years and beyond. This is an extremely important document with 10 pillars, covering all areas of cooperation in the bilateral relationship.

That shows that cooperation between the two countries has not only been expanded but also gone into greater depth and substance; not only on the bilateral cooperation level but also on regional and global issues.

Deputy Foreign Minister Ha Kim Ngoc. (Photo: VNA)

Although his visit to Vietnam was short and he had to return home on September 11 to make a statement on the occasion of the US national holiday, President Biden held talks and meetings with all four key leaders of Vietnam and for the first time, a US president went to the National Assembly building to meet with the chairman of the Vietnamese National Assembly and witness the ceremony of handing over war relics to veterans of the two countries.

This is an action that demonstrates respect for Vietnam's political institutions and Vietnamese leaders, not only in the text of the Joint Statement, but also in practice. At the same time, this is a good opportunity for President Biden to build and strengthen relations with Vietnam's senior leaders.

The reception, logistics and security work was also a success. The State-level welcome ceremony, chaired by General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, took place solemnly at the Presidential Palace in the mild, sunny autumn weather of Hanoi and the beautiful scenery. We also ensured absolute security and safety for the Delegation.

President Biden and the US delegation were very impressed, very satisfied and repeatedly thanked the General Secretary, leaders and people of Vietnam for the thoughtful, warm and hospitable reception given to the delegation.

- The establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership between Vietnam and the US for peace, cooperation and sustainable development is a historic milestone in the relationship between the two countries. So, what benefits will the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership bring to both countries?

Comprehensive strategic partnership brings both long-term and immediate benefits to both sides:

Generally speaking, Vietnam has the opportunity and conditions to deepen its relations with the US, a strategically important partner, in an effective and substantive manner; practically serving the development goal, maintaining a peaceful and stable environment, enhancing the country's prestige and position, as in the spirit of the 13th National Party Congress resolution.

On the other hand, the US has the opportunity to strengthen relations with Vietnam, a partner with an increasingly important role in the region, thereby strengthening relations with ASEAN and regional countries in general; taking advantage of new cooperation opportunities to enhance the position and role of the US in the region.

The new Comprehensive Strategic Partnership framework will facilitate the two sides to enhance mutual understanding, build and consolidate trust, an extremely important foundation in the long-term relationship between the two countries for many years to come.

Upgrading relations will have a positive impact, increasing consensus in each country; creating conditions to mobilize and concentrate resources for important cooperation programs and plans that are mutually beneficial.

For the US in particular, the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership framework will strengthen bipartisan support for the bilateral relationship, thereby increasing the stability, sustainability, and predictability of US policy towards Vietnam regardless of which party is in power in the US.

It is important to emphasize that the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership framework not only benefits the people of the two countries, but also makes important contributions to peace, cooperation and sustainable development in the region and the world.

Talks between General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and US President Joe Biden on the afternoon of September 10.

- Could you please share about the process of the two sides reaching the Vietnam-US Joint Statement?

Upgrading relations is an important step forward, opening a new phase of cooperation, or as President Biden said, "opening a new era" in Vietnam-US relations.

Therefore, the process of exchanging the joint statement was very lively and exciting; because this is the process of reviewing 10 years of comprehensive partnership cooperation, affirming important principles that are the "guiding principles" in the relationship between the two countries such as respecting international law and the United Nations Charter, respecting each other's independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and political institutions; at the same time, setting out major directions for cooperation in the next 10 years and beyond.

The process of exchanging and reaching agreement on the Joint Statement shows that both sides expressed goodwill, receptiveness, respect, listening and understanding of each other, wishing to maximize mutually beneficial cooperation areas and contribute to peace, cooperation and sustainable development in the region and the world.

- Could you please tell us how the contents of the joint statement will be realized in the coming time? Which areas will be prioritized for implementation?

With 8 pages of Joint Statement, the sentences are very concise and tight, giving a dry feeling, but this document contains many important and meaningful contents for the cooperation between the two countries in the coming time and both sides sent in it their wishes, expectations and emotions, as US Ambassador to Hanoi Marc Knapper told the press.

With 10 years of experience in comprehensive partnership, I firmly believe that both sides will actively and effectively implement the content of the joint statement on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, on the basis of existing frameworks and mechanisms, as well as those to be established in the coming time. This process requires great efforts from each side, including government agencies, the National Assembly, organizations, localities, enterprises...

Every year, there needs to be a specific roadmap and plan to achieve the set goals and every year there needs to be a review and evaluation of the implementation.

Observing President Biden's activities during his 24-hour visit to Vietnam and through the content of the Joint Statement, you will clearly see the priorities of the relationship.

(i) First of all, it is the exchange of high-level visits and meetings on the sidelines of regional and international forums; strengthening cooperation on all channels: Party, State, Parliament, and people-to-people exchanges. This is very important, contributing to creating a favorable environment and driving force to promote cooperation in all other fields.

(ii) Economy - trade - investment continue to be given high priority, in which science, technology and innovation are breakthrough areas and cooperation in infrastructure development, human resource training... are priority areas.

The business roundtable witnessed by President Biden and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh was a highlight of the President's program and demonstrated one of the focuses of the relationship in the coming time.

(iii) Other important areas of cooperation include: overcoming the consequences of war, education and training, cooperation in handling global issues such as participating in peacekeeping forces, responding to climate change, including the Mekong Delta region, energy security, food, water resources, healthcare, counter-terrorism, etc.

General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and US President Joe Biden at a joint press conference on September 10.

- Vietnam's foreign relations have developed very strongly, thereby creating space and room for development not only in the Vietnam - US relationship but also helping Vietnam's general foreign relations to be more balanced and solid in relation to other key partners. Could you tell us how this visit has shown a bright spot in Vietnam's foreign relations in 2023?

Establishing a comprehensive strategic partnership framework with the US has implications beyond the bilateral relationship, including:

Firstly, establishing the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for peace, cooperation and sustainable development with the US is a very important milestone in our overall foreign policy.

For the first time, Vietnam has established relations at the Strategic Partnership level with all five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (China, Russia, the US, the UK and France), thereby creating a framework for stable and long-term relations with important partners, contributing to consolidating the country's solid foreign position.

First, establishing a comprehensive strategic partnership for peace, cooperation and sustainable development

Second, in 2023 and in recent years, along with developing relations with the US, Vietnam has also actively promoted relations with neighboring countries, regions, major and important partners, and traditional friends such as China, Laos, Cambodia, Cuba, ASEAN countries, Russia, India, etc.

This will contribute to creating an open and favorable foreign situation, contributing to maintaining a peaceful and stable environment for development, creating a deep interweaving of interests, promoting the realization of the development goals by 2045 of the 13th Party Congress, and enhancing Vietnam's position and prestige.

Third, recent foreign affairs activities, including the establishment of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with the US, have once again strongly affirmed the correctness and are an important and outstanding result of Vietnam's foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, peace, friendship, diversification, multilateralization, peace, cooperation and development, and the "four no's" defense policy.

Tra Khanh

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