Socialist Republic of Vietnam

Sept. 29, 1990: US Secretary of State J. Baker and Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Nguyen Co Thach met in New York for the first time to discuss bilateral relations.

April 9, 1991: The United States introduced a four-step "Roadmap" on normalizing bilateral relations.

Nov. 21, 1991: Deputy Foreign Minister Le Mai and US Assistant to the State Secretary in charge of Eastern Asia-Pacific R. Solomon conducted the first round of negotiations on the normalisation of bilateral relations in New York.

Feb. 3, 1994: President Bill Clinton made an announcement on lifting the US embargo against Vietnam and establishing a diplomatic liaison office on normalizing diplomatic ties.

May 26, 1994: Vietnam and the US reached agreement on opening liaison offices in the two countries' capitals.

February, 1995: Vietnam and the US opened liaison offices in Washington DC and Ha Noi.

July 11, 1995: President Bill Clinton declared the normalisation of diplomatic relations with Vietnam. Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet declared the establishment of diplomatic relations with the US on July 12, 1995.

August, 1995: Vietnam and the US inaugurated their embassies in Washington DC and Ha Noi. US Secretary of State W. Christopher visited Vietnam for the first time.

April, 1997: US Secretary of Treasury Rubin visited Vietnam to sign an agreement on measures to resolve debts between the former Sai Gon regime and the US with Vietnamese Finance Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung. Vietnam appointed the first Military Attache in the US.

May 12, 1997: Vietnam and the US exchanged ambassadors for the first time.

June 27, 1997: US Secretary of State M. Albright visited Vietnam and signed an agreement on copyrights with Foreign Minister Nguyen Manh Cam.

November, 1997: The US voiced its support for Vietnam's entry into the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) forum at the APEC summit in Canada.

March 11, 1998: US President Bill Clinton for the first time announced the waiver of the Jackson-Vanik amendment for Vietnam. Since then, the US President has annually granted the waiver for Vietnam.

March, 1998: The two sides officially signed an agreement allowing the US's Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) to operate in Vietnam.

Sept. 30-Oct. 2, 1998: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Nguyen Manh Cam visited the US for the first time.

October, 1998: Deputy Minister of National Defence Tran Hanh visited the US for the first time.

July 29, 1999: The first political consultation between the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry and the US State Department took place in Ha Noi. By 2004, there had been four rounds of political dialogue.

Sept. 6-7, 1999: Prime Minister Phan Van Khai and President Clinton had a private meeting to discuss bilateral relations on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Auckland, New Zealand.

Dec. 9, 1999: The State Bank of Vietnam and the EXIMBANK of the US officially signed two framework agreements to facilitate a project financing co-operation between the two agencies.

March 13-15, 2000: Defense Secretary William Cohen paid his first official visit to Vietnam.

July 14, 2000: Vietnamese Trade Minister Vu Khoan and US Trade Representative C. Barshefsky signed the Vietnam-US Bilateral Trade Agreement in Washington DC.

Sept. 6, 2000: While attending the UN's Millennium Summit in New York, Vietnamese President Tran Duc Luong met US President Bill Clinton and invited him to visit Vietnam.

Nov. 16-19, 2000: US President Bill Clinton paid an official visit to Vietnam. The two sides signed an agreement on scientific and technological cooperation and a minute on labour cooperation and witnessed the signing of 12 letters of agreement on investment and trade.

Dec. 5-6, 2000: President of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation G. Munoz visited Vietnam, pledging to grant 200 million USD as special insurance to assist US companies wishing to invest in Vietnam.

June 22-July 2, 2001: While attending the UN's session on HIV/AIDS in New York, Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Khiem had a working session with US officials to discuss bilateral cooperation in science, technology and education.

July 24-26, 2001: State Secretary Colin Powell was in Vietnam for the eighth ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF-8) and ASEAN Post-Ministerial Conference in Ha Noi.

Dec. 9-14, 2001: Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung paid a working visit to the US and witnessed the ratification of the Vietnam-US Trade Agreement which took effect as from Dec. 10, 2001.

June 12-22, 2002: Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Manh Cam paid a working visit to the US and witnessed the signing of a declaration of cooperation between the Vietnamese Ministry of Planning and Investment and the US's Texas State and an MoU of a programme on technical assistance for the implementation of the Vietnam-US Trade Agreement.

Sept. 6-12, 2002: Foreign Minister Nguyen Dy Nien paid a working visit to the US, aiming to boost bilateral relations.

Sept. 9, 2002: The two Government signed for the first time a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on a HIV/AID prevention and care programme in Vietnam for the 2003-2008 period. The programme is worth about 20 million USD.

July 8-22, 2003: A delegation of the Vietnam Education Foundation (VEF) of the US arrived in Vietnam to launch the VEF Fund, granting 22 scholarships to Vietnamese students to study in the US. The Vietnam Education Fund will disburse 145 million USD over 18 years.

July 17, 2003: The Vietnam-US Textile Agreement was officially signed in Ha Noi (initially signed in Washington DC on April 25, 2003).

July 23, 2003: The International Trade Commission ruled that Vietnam had dumped tra and basa catfish on the US market and levied antidumping taxes on Vietnam's tra and basa fillets.

Nov. 9-12, 2003: National Defence Minister Pham Van Tra visited the US.

Nov. 19-21, 2003: First US naval ship anchored at the Sai Gon port in Ho Chi Minh City.

Dec. 3-12, 2003: Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan paid an official visit to the US, witnessing the signing of five cooperative documents including the Agreement on Aviation Cooperation and the Agreement on Drug Control Cooperation.

Feb. 8-12, 2004: Admiral Thomas Fargo, Commander of the US Pacific Command, visited Vietnam.

Apr. 22-30, 2004: National Assembly Deputy Chairman Nguyen Phuc Thanh visited the US to attend the debut of the US parliamentarian group for the US-Vietnam relations.

June 23, 2004: The US President put Vietnam on the list of 15 prioritised countries to benefit from the plan on emergency assistance for AIDS control in the 2004-2008 period. Vietnam was the only Asian country to be included in the list.

Sept. 15, 2004: The US State Department issued a report on world religious freedom, which listed Vietnam a country of special concern.

Nov. 20-21, 2004: President Tran Duc Luong met President George W. Bush on the sidelines of the 12th Summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Santiago, Chile.

Dec. 10, 2004: The first direct flight from the US to Vietnam after 1975.

Jan. 10-14, 2005: Senator Akaka (Hawaii) and congressman Issa (California) attended the 13th Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum in Ha Long City, the northeastern province of Quang Ninh.

Mar. 29-Apr. 1, 2005: A US naval ship landed at the Sai Gon port.

(Source: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
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Published: 15 June, 2005, 21:24:21 (GMT+7)
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