US President accepts invitation to visit Vietnam, proposes early announcement of General Secretary's visit

On the occasion of attending the ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with US President Donald Trump.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh respectfully conveyed the invitation to President Donald Trump to visit Vietnam from General Secretary To Lam and senior Vietnamese leaders.

President Donald Trump happily accepted the invitation, saying he very much wanted and would arrange time to visit Vietnam.

On the basis of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for peace , cooperation and sustainable development between Vietnam and the US, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh asked the US side to arrange a visit to the US by General Secretary To Lam.

On this issue, President Donald Trump suggested that Vietnam promptly notify the US and expressed his hope that the Vietnamese Prime Minister would also visit the US at a time convenient for both sides.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh meets US President Donald Trump. Photo: VGP

At the meeting, the two leaders agreed to promote the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for peace, cooperation and sustainable development between Vietnam and the US to become increasingly deeper, more substantial and effective, including the early signing of a reciprocal trade agreement in a fair and equal direction, promoting US investment in Vietnam.

Following the proposal of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, President Donald Trump responded positively and acknowledged the proposal to recognize Vietnam as a market economy, remove Vietnam from the D1 and D3 strategic export lists, and directed senior US officials such as the Secretary of the Treasury and the Trade Representative present at the conference to promptly respond to these issues for Vietnam.

The Prime Minister said that Vietnam highly appreciates the role of US President Donald Trump in promoting the peaceful resolution of recent conflict hotspots around the world.

The meeting on the sidelines of the ASEAN-US Summit between the two leaders, though short, demonstrated mutual understanding, respect, and agreement to continue to strongly, substantially, and effectively promote the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries.

The US is ready to cooperate and support ASEAN in solving common challenges.

This afternoon, at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Center, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, leaders of ASEAN countries and US President Donald Trump attended the 13th ASEAN - US Summit.

ASEAN leaders highly appreciated the role and active contributions of the US to regional cooperation through ASEAN-led mechanisms, especially promoting dialogue and building trust for peace and stability in the region.

ASEAN leaders especially appreciated the commitment, efforts and role of President Donald Trump personally in promoting dialogue and cooperation between countries, through supporting negotiations to reduce tensions, negotiating and signing the Peace Declaration between Thailand and Cambodia.

The leaders shared their assessment that ASEAN-US relations continue to develop strongly, comprehensively and effectively in all fields. Two-way trade in 2024 will reach more than 453 billion USD, accounting for 11.8% of ASEAN's total trade turnover. The US is the second largest trading partner and the largest source of foreign direct investment in ASEAN.

In particular, ASEAN and the US have completed the entire 2021-2025 Action Plan with many cooperation programs and projects in areas such as politics - security, transnational crime prevention, maritime security, trade, investment, transportation, agriculture, science and technology, etc.

The US has also supported ASEAN in completing the study on the next-generation ASEAN Single Window (ASW 2.0) and will continue to provide technical assistance in operating the ASW 2.0 system.

The countries affirmed to continue effectively implementing commitments, programs and cooperation initiatives to further deepen the ASEAN-US Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, focusing on strategic cooperation areas such as high-quality trade and investment, finance, infrastructure connectivity, digital economy, energy, ensuring a healthy cyber security environment, etc.

At the conference, US President Donald Trump affirmed that Southeast Asia holds a very important position in US policy in the Indo-Pacific. The US will continue to be a partner and friend of countries in the region.

The US wishes to further deepen its partnership with ASEAN, not only in economics, trade, energy, technology, artificial intelligence, etc., but also for the goals of peace, stability and prosperity for all countries in the region, for the benefit of people and future generations.

President Trump also affirmed that the US is ready to cooperate and support ASEAN in resolving common challenges on the basis of respecting the Association's central role and the legitimate interests of its member countries.

Strongly developing ASEAN - US cooperation

Speaking at the conference, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh assessed the US as one of ASEAN's most comprehensive strategic partners with strong commitments to strengthening cooperation between the two regions.

The Prime Minister proposed four major orientations to develop ASEAN-US cooperation strongly, substantially and effectively.

The Prime Minister proposed promoting economic, trade and investment connectivity, working towards balanced, harmonious and sustainable trade relations; strengthening cooperation in digital transformation, innovation and energy security, including energy infrastructure connectivity and nuclear energy cooperation for peaceful purposes.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh also proposed that ASEAN and the US strengthen cyber security and combat transnational crime, in which the US initiative on combating online fraud and Vietnam's initiative on improving the effectiveness of arresting wanted criminals are the basis for ASEAN and the US to promote cooperation in this field. In addition, the two sides need to strengthen cooperation to maintain peace, security and stability in the region.

The Prime Minister stressed that ASEAN and the US share interests and responsibilities in maintaining peace, stability, security and development in the region, including the East Sea, for the benefit of all countries and people in the region.

The Prime Minister emphasized ASEAN's principled stance on the East Sea, including peaceful settlement of disputes on the basis of international law and UNCLOS 1982.

At the end of the conference, ASEAN and US leaders adopted the “ASEAN-US Joint Vision Statement on a Stronger, Safer and More Prosperous Region”, as strategic guidance for the new phase of cooperation.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/tong-thong-my-donald-trump-mong-muon-va-se-thu-xep-tham-viet-nam-2456521.html