Washington DC (VNA) – Increasing mutual visits at all levelsbetween Vietnam and the US illustrate growing bilateral ties, VietnameseAmbassador to the US Pham Quang Vinh said on the threshold of an official visitto the US by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

The May 29-31 trip, to be made at the invitationof US President Donald Trump, follows a series of visits by the two countries’leaders including the trips to the US by Party General Secretary Nguyen PhuTrong in 2015 and President Truong Tan Sang in 2013, and a visit to Vietnam byPresident Barack Obama last year.

Vinh told Vietnam News Agency that the increaseof visits also demonstrates Vietnam’s rising stature in the region and the twocountries’ efforts to deepen mutual understanding and seek new cooperationopportunities in new conditions.

This visit is the first US trip by a Vietnameseleader since President Donald Trump was sworn into office.

At meetings with US leaders over the past years,Vietnam reiterated its consistent foreign policy of independence,self-reliance, diversification and multilateralisation of foreign relations. Ittreasures bilateral relations with the US and wants to boost ties with thelatter at regional and international cooperation, the ambassador said.

The Trump administration also affirmed that itvalues Vietnam’s role in the region and wishes to tighten bilateralconnections, which will develop the Vietnam-US comprehensive partnership in aresult-oriented manner, Vinh added.

He noted that politicians, entrepreneurs orscholars in the US are all interested in Vietnam-US relations and assess thoseties are mutually beneficiary. In his invitation to visit the US sent to PMPhuc, President Trump emphasised that the US wants to foster bilateralcooperation in all aspects and considers Vietnam its important partner incooperation in Southeast Asia and Asia-Pacific.

He said he had met with US congress members whoexpressed their hope that the trip will create more momentum for the countries’linkages. Meanwhile, many researchers also commented that as Vietnam is thefirst Southeast Asian nation to have a leader touring the US since Trump tookoffice, the trip by PM Phuc is expected to clarify the US’s policy towards thisregion.

Regarding the visit’s main focus, the diplomatsaid it is of utmost importance to continue the development trend of bilateralties, including in politics, over the last 22 years.

Economic and trade relations are still a pillarin the country’s partnership, surging about 100 times over the last two decadesto more than 50 billion USD at present. Much room remains for their economicand trade ties which are also a big interest of the Trump administration, Vinhnoted, adding that during this visit, both sides will surely reach a commonvoice to promote what they benefit from those economic and trade links.

In terms of security-defence cooperation,Vietnam and the US have already had frameworks such as the Joint VisionStatement on Defence Relations in 2015 and a protocol on defence cooperation.Cooperation in this field will be reinforced, especially in peacekeeping,humanitarian aid, and navigation security and safety.

Meanwhile, there are about 30,000 Vietnamesestudents in the US who will be a bridge linking the two nations. More than500,000 Americans visit Vietnam each year, he said, highlighting the need tocreate favourbale conditions to encourage the countries’ exchanges.

During his visit, PM Phuc is set to have talkswith President Trump at the White House, meet with parliamentarians of bothDemocratic Party and Republican Party, and talk to scholars. Notably, he willhost meetings with many US entrepreneurs.

Vinh expressed his belief that the two leaderswill have useful discussions, reach common perceptions and set up developmentorientations for the bilateral relations. The ambassador also expected a numberof contracts worth billions of USD will be signed between Vietnamese and USbusinesses, serving as evidence for the win-win cooperation between the twocountries.-VNA