Vietnam PM to attend Asean-US summit in Washington this week

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in his speech recorded at the Global Trade in Services Summit in China in 2021. Photo by Vietnam government's portal

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh will lead the Vietnamese delegation at the ASEAN-U.S. summit in Washington and pay a visit to the U.S. between May 11 and 17.

Chinh will join other leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members at the ASEAN-U.S. Special Summit on May 12 and 13 at the invitation of U.S. President Joe Biden.

The summit commemorates the 45th anniversary of ASEAN-U.S. relations, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement Sunday.

The ASEAN-U.S. dialogue relationship was established in 1977 and upgraded to a strategic partnership in 2015. The U.S. is the bloc’s second-largest trading partner after China, and largest investor.

As of last year, the U.S. announced that it had provided more than forty-two million doses of vaccines and supported ASEAN members with more than $200 million to fight the pandemic.

The U.S. also contributed $500,000 to the ASEAN Covid-19 Response Fund.

Besides the ASEAN summit, the Vietnamese PM will pay a visit to the U.S. and work at the United Nations.

Vietnam and the U.S., former foes, normalized relations in 1995.

Recent milestones in bilateral ties include the U.S. fully lifting the lethal arms ban on Vietnam during President Barack Obama's visit in May 2016; and sending aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson to Da Nang in March 2018, marking the biggest U.S. military presence in Vietnam since the Vietnam War ended in 1975.

Bilateral trade surged from $450 million in 1994 to $111.56 billion in 2021.

Vietnam joined the United Nations in 1977. The two sides are implementing the Joint Strategic Plan for the 2017-2021 period, supporting Vietnam in the implementation of its five year (2016-2020) Socio-Economic Development Strategy as well as measures to achieve its Sustainable Development Goals, which comprise four priority areas: investing in people; ensuring climate change adaptation and environmental sustainability; promoting prosperity and partnerships; promoting justice, achieving peace and comprehensive governance.

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