Hanoi (VNA) –𝓡 Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and US Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken compared notes on measures to enhance the relationship between Vietnam and the US in the time ahead during their meeting in Hanoi on April 21.

The two sides also discussed coordination between the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the US Department of State in organising the upcoming visit to Vietnam by President Barack Obama in May. They reminisced about developments in the bilateral relations since the two countries issued a Joint Vision Statement during the official visit to the US by Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong in July 2015. Deputy PM and FM Minh called on the US to continue its close coordination with Vietnam to deepen the two countries’ comprehensive partnership in a more pragmatic and effective fashion in order to serve their people’s interests and contribute to peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region. The host reiterated Vietnam’s resolve to approve and effectuate the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, expressing his hope that the US Congress will soon ratify the pact so that it can be put in place, thus helping enhance economic and trade ties between its member countries and promote regional development cooperation. He also called on the two countries to deepen their bilateral collaboration in nine areas named in the Vietnam-US Joint Statement issued in 2013, which takes development cooperation as central to the relationship. Antony Blinken, in reply, affirmed that US leaders regard the upcoming Vietnam visit by President Barack Obama as one of the country’s most important diplomatic events in 2016. Through the visit, President Obama wishes to beef up the comprehensive cooperation between the US and Vietnam, and learn more about the culture, history and people of the Southeast Asian nation, he said. The US will continue to join hands with Vietnam to foster their affiliation in trade, investment, climate change response, education-training, maritime security and post-war consequence settlement, the guest stated. He hailed Vietnam’s determination to negotiate and accelerate the approval of the TPP agreement, saying the move has motivated the US side to swiftly adopt the deal. Mentioning the East Sea issue, Antony Blinken affirmed the US’s backing for the peaceful settlement of disputes in the sea through diplomatic channels and on the basis of international law as well as common standards, including the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea, the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea and the joint statement made by US and ASEAN leaders in Sunnylands last February.-VNA