Socialist Republic of Vietnam

Vietnam’s new ambassador to the US has affirmed that the most important goal of his working term is to contribute to developing the Vietnam-US ties into a strategic partnership.

According to Ambassador Cuong, at the credentials presentation, US President Barack Obama said that the US-Vietnam bilateral relationship has made “remarkable progress” with increasing cooperation in trade, security, nonproliferation, health, environment, science and technology, and education.

The US and Vietnam should “continue to build on this momentum” as the two countries move forward with efforts to take the US-Vietnam relationship to the next level of partnership and new degree of cooperation, he stressed.

President Obama added that the US and Vietnam should “work to advance their shared interests in regional stability and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific.” He also promised to provide active support for the Ambassador and Vietnamese agencies in the US.

He expressed thanks to the President and other leaders of Vietnam and said he wishes to visit Vietnam early.

On the occasion, the Vietnamese diplomat noted that the two countries' relations have made remarkable progress over the past 16 years since the two countries normalised their ties.

Vietnam and the US have laid a strong foundation for bilateral cooperation in various areas, from politics-security-defence to economics-trade-investment, education, health, science and technology as well as cooperation in such humanitarian issues as searching for those missing in action (MIA) and addressing consequences of Agent Orange, he said.

"We are also working closely on climate change, non-proliferation and counter terrorism," he added.

Meeting with Vietnamese correspondents after the credentials presentation, Ambassador Cuong stressed that during his term of office, he will focus on lifting the Vietnam-US relationship to a new height towards a strategic partnership for the interests of the two nations and for the sake of peace, stability and development in the region and the world as a whole.

He, however, pointed to obstacles that the two sides need to overcome to deepen their relations, including the legacy of the past and differences between the two countries in such issues as democracy, human rights and religion.

The two sides have set up a regular dialogue mechanism where frank exchanges were made to promote their understanding of those different viewpoints and deeds, he added.

The ambassador also affirmed that he will also focus on the work relating to the Vietnamese community in the US, saying he found it extremely important to act as a bridge to bring overseas Vietnamese closer to the homeland.

The ambassador said he plans to visit several US states where he will meet with the Vietnamese communities and listen to their feelings and aspirations as well as explain guidelines and policies of the Vietnamese Party and State for them.