The United States and Vietnam: Vision for an Evolving Relationship

 

Ambassador Marine addresses the state of relations between the U.S. and Vietnam

Ambassador Marine gave remarks on US-Vietnam bilateral relations before a HCMC audience on Wednesday, September 20. The Ambassador addressed the successful collaborations between the two countries over the past few years, as well as areas of concern such as corruption, human rights, and religious freedom.

“The unprecedented pace, breadth and senior nature of our interchanges in the past 15 months marks a breakthrough to a new level of engagement.”

“The shared U.S. and Vietnamese interest in regional and global stability unites us in our cooperative efforts to combat terrorism.”

“[Vietnamese and American] efforts have and will continue to open our societies to one another, to deepen the American peoples' understanding and appreciation of Vietnamese culture and history, and to build the underpinnings of Vietnam's democratization.”

“. . .we are heartened by the commitment of Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and his Government to tackle corruption in Vietnam and, with other global partners, we are willing to help in this important fight wherever we can.”

“The voice of the media in Vietnam needs to be heard on all issues.”

“Vietnam is well-placed to use its “traditional friendship” with the DPRK to help convince North Korea to forego these actions and end its isolation from the world community.”

The over 300 guests included GVN officials, businesspeople, students, and multi-national diplomats

To view the entire speech, click here.