Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrives in Vietnam: 'It's wonderful to be back in Hanoi'

The Vietnamese Foreign Ministry today released a statement saying, accepting the invitation of Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh, US Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo officially visited Vietnam from October 29-30 to celebrate celebrating 25 years of establishing diplomatic relations between the two countries.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived in Hanoi at more than 20 o'clock, according to VnExpress, and will officially visit Vietnam in two days 29-30 October at the invitation of Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh, celebrates 25 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

"It is great to be back in Hanoi and to celebrate the 25th anniversary of US-Vietnam diplomatic relations. I am looking forward to meeting Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh"

Pompeo posted Twitter after his arrival in Hanoi.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrives in Vietnam: 'It's wonderful to be back in Hanoi' Picture 1

Foreign Minister Michael Pompeo and Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh. Photo:  Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam .

According to a statement by the US State Department, Mr. Pompeo will meet Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and Minister of Public Security To Lam. His visit aims to reaffirm the power of the Comprehensive Partnership, celebrate the 25th anniversary of US-Vietnam diplomatic relations, promote a shared commitment to a peaceful, prosperous region and discuss issues. both sides are interested.

Mr. Pompeo will meet Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and Minister of Public Security To Lam, according to a statement on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of  the United States .

The statement said the US Secretary's trip to Vietnam was intended to reaffirm the strength of the Comprehensive Partnership between the two countries, celebrate the 25th anniversary of US-Vietnam diplomatic relations and discuss maritime issues. East and the Mekong River region that both sides are interested in.

"For the past quarter-century, our two countries have built a partnership and friendship based on common interests, mutual respect and people-to-people relations, as demonstrated by strengthening our trade and investment, strategic cooperation and coordination on humanitarian and war legacy issues ",

Pompeo said in July.

"In recent years, we have strengthened and expanded Comprehensive Partnership on the basis of a shared vision of a stable and peaceful Indo-Pacific, as well as respect for independence. sovereignty, territorial integrity and political institutions of each other "

he said.

Mr. Pompeo praised Vietnam-US cooperation for the past 25 years and pledged to put the bilateral relationship into an international model in his statement in July. The US Secretary of State emphasized that the two countries have strengthened trade and early private, strategic cooperation and coordination in humanitarian issues and left war issues, including searching for those missing in the war.

The United States and Vietnam have also strengthened and expanded Comprehensive Partnership on the basis of a shared vision of a stable and peaceful Indo-Pacific, as well as respect for independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity and political institutions of each other.

The US Secretary of State also expressed appreciation for Vietnam's achievements as ASEAN President this year, especially in coordinating ASEAN's response to the COVID-19 pandemic and related issues. economic recovery.

He said that the relationship between the Vietnamese people and the US is increasingly cohesive, in part thanks to the Vietnamese community in the US. There are nearly 30,000 Vietnamese students every year studying in the US and more than 1,200 Americans are studying in Vietnam.

Vietnam - America began to normalize relations after the declaration of President Bill Clinton on July 11, 1995, marking the "sweet fruit" after a long time in the difficult negotiation process, due to suspicions. during the war.

Over the past 25 years, two-way trade turnover increased from 450 million USD in 1994 to 77 billion USD in 2019. For many years, the US has been Vietnam's largest export market, and Vietnam is one of the markets. Exports have the highest growth rates in the US.

Within the framework of the Indo-Pacific Business Forum (IPBF) held in Hanoi on the morning of October 28, three US corporations including Bechtel, General Electric, and McDermott signed an agreement to jointly deploy equipment worth 3. billion USD for the project of Liquefied gas-fired power plant in Bac Lieu. The plant has a total capacity of 3,200 MW, is the first large-scale power project invested by foreign investors in the form of IPP (independent power project).

Today, Vietnam and the US are reliable partners, the State Department wrote in a statement.In areas such as trade, education, health, energy and security, the US and a strong Vietnam and independence are cooperating with a shared commitment to peace and security.

This joint commitment was outlined in a joint statement in November 2017 during Mr. Trump's visit to Hanoi. This was again emphasized during the visits to Vietnam by US Secretary of State Pompeo (July 2018) and US Defense Secretary Mark Esper (November 2019). Theodore Roosevelt commemorates the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations, following the historic visit of the USS Carl Vinson in March 2018 - marking the first visit of an American aircraft carrier to Vietnam in more than 40 years. year.

The visits show Washington's support for Hanoi, as well as show the deep friendship between the two countries.

Marvin Fry

Update 30 October 2020