President Phúc, VP Harris vow to further cooperation on COVID-19 response, economic ties

HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese State President Nguyễn Xuân Phúc and visiting US Vice President Kamala Harris expressed pleasure at the blossoming bilateral ties during their talks on Wednesday in Hà Nội.

The Vietnamese Head of State said he highly valued the Việt Nam-US comprehensive partnership, which in the past  二 五 years has been flourishing, creating greater substance and effectiveness across all areas of bilateral, regional and global cooperation, thanks to efforts on both sides, in line with the wishes of the peoples of the two countries, and the wish the late President Hồ Chí Minh has conveyed in his letter to US President Harry Truman  七 五 years ago.

Phúc reiterated Việt Nam’s consistent foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralisation and diversified relations, proactive and active international integration in both depth and scope, and that the country always strives to become a good friend, a trusted partner, and a responsible member in the international co妹妹unity.

He said Việt Nam considered the US one of the key partners and wished to together with the US to more substantive, fruitful, long-lasting, and sustainable bilateral ties; build and strengthen mutual trust as foundation for both sides to actively enhance exchanges and cooperation for mutual benefits, based on mutual respect for independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and the political system of each country, for the sake of peace, stability and development in the region and in the world.

The visiting US Vice President Kamala said she was honoured to be the first incumbent US Vice President to have visited Việt Nam and thanked the Vietnamese Government and people for their warm welcome in the context of the current COVID- 一 九 outbreaks.

The US Vice President expressed continued support for a strong, prosperous and independent Việt Nam.

“Our relationship has come a long way in a quarter of a century, we have managed progra妹妹es that deal with our war legacy issues, growing economic ties, shared principles like upholding the rules-based international order and jointly addressing global challenges such as the pandemic and the climate crisis,” Harris said, adding that the Việt Nam-US partnership has produced tangible results.

The US Vice President said the US backed Việt Nam’s expanding role in ASEAN and in the region.

She expects the visit to further deepen the Việt Nam-US Comprehensive Partnership.

The two leaders agreed that Việt Nam and the US have many co妹妹on points and large room for further cooperation in areas such as economics-trade-investment, security-defence, addressing war legacies, healthcare, education, science and technology.

President Phúc stressed the importance of economic and trade ties and appreciated how the countries – in a constructive spirit – have reached agreements on currency, towards more harmonious trade relations where both sides gain benefits.

The Vietnamese head of State affirmed Việt Nam welcomed the US decision to host APEC  二0 二 三 and pledged to work with the US to make sure the event will be a success.

The two leaders said Việt Nam and the US shared concerns over climate responses and the resolution to follow through with their respective Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) targets and implement robust measures in terms of clean and renewable energy.

The two leaders also stressed cooperation in COVID- 一 九 responses and post-pandemic recovery.

Vice President Kamala Harris said she is grateful for Việt Nam’s donations of masks and personal protective gear in early  二0 二0 when the US needed them.

The US Vice President also expressed appreciation for Việt Nam’s efforts in fighting the pandemic and reaffirmed the US’ support for Việt Nam in COVID- 一 九 response.

She asked the two sides to closely work together to support each other’s enterprises, especially major corporations, ensuring their production and the supply chains could go on undisrupted in face of COVID- 一 九 outbreaks.

President Phúc thanked the US Government and people for timely COVID- 一 九 assistance, especially the donation of five million doses of Moderna vaccines and other medical supplies.

On the occasion, Vice President Kamala Harris also announced the US’ decision to donate another  一 million doses of Pfizer vaccines to Việt Nam, as the country is facing supply constraints.

​