Big deals expected during Obama visit: Vietnam Ambassador

By Toan Dao   May 16, 2016 | 04:58 pm PT
Big deals expected during Obama visit: Vietnam Ambassador
Ambassador Pham Quang Vinh presented credentials to President Barack Obama. Photo by Vietnam Embassy in the U.S.
Vietnam's Ambassador to the United States, Pham Quang Vinh, said he believes Hanoi and Washington will strike big deals during the upcoming Obama visit.

The two countries are reviewing the Comprehensive Partnership and Vietnam-U.S. Joint Vision Statement to look ways for accelerating their cooperation areas. “I am confident there will be big agreements inked in these areas, from economic cooperation to others. The preparation process [for the expected deals] is underway and we are looking for the outcomes,” Vinh told the Voice of Vietnam in an interview in the U.S.

The Ambassador said if the U.S. lifts the three-decade-old lethal arms embargo on Vietnam during this trip, that would significantly benefit the bilateral ties. “I put high hopes on this [the lifting],” he said, adding that he has worked with several officials from the U.S. Administration and Congress on the issue.

According to Vinh, the visit by President Obama will be centered first on economic cooperation. Investors in the U.S. have found Vietnam a popular destination for their investments and this trend will move forward. The two countries will also continue to work together on the Trans-Pacific Partnership while seeking to further develop their cooperation in science and technology, education, people-to people exchange, climate change, maritime security and environment.

Vietnam and U.S. announced their Comprehensive Partnership in July 2013 during a U.S. visit by Vietnam’s former President Truong Tan Sang. The agreement creates a new framework for their cooperation in politics-diplomacy, economics-trade, science-technology, education-training, environment-healthcare, humanitarian-overcoming war aftermath, defence-security, protection and promotion of human rights, and culture-sports and tourism.

The Vietnam-U.S. Joint Vision Statement, which was made in July last year during a visit to the U.S. by General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong, set out guidelines to deepen the relationship between the two countries.

In the latest development, Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed Monday the U.S. president will arrive in Hanoi on the morning of May 23 instead of May 22 as planned previously.

 
 
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