Hanoi (VNA) – President Barack Obama expressed his hope to establish friendly and long-term relations between the US and Vietnam on the basis of r♛especting each other’s political institutions and for their people’s interests at his meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen ꦯXuan Phuc in Hanoi on May 23.

The two leaders spoke of their satisfaction with the practical progresses in bilateral relations since the comprehensive partnership was established in July 2013, particularly in the fields of economy, trade, investment, education, health, war consequence settlement, and people-to-people exchanges. They exchanged views on measures to intensify the Vietnam-US comprehensive partnership, with the priority given to development cooperation. PM Phuc asked the US to recognise Vietnam’s market economy status as early as possible, open its market wider to Vietnamese goods, and increase its foreign investment to become the biggest investor in Vietnam. He voiced his hope for the US’ assistance in responding to climate change, especially in the Mekong Delta – Vietnam’s largest rice granary. He also asked the US to help Vietnam successfully organise the 2017 APEC Summit, and create favourable conditions for the Vietnamese community in the country. President Obama stressed the importance of boosting bilateral ties in education and training, climate change adaptation, economy, trade and science-technology. He exchanged notes with the Vietnamese Government leader on the regional situation, including the East Sea issue, as well as non-traditional security challenges which are affecting peace, stability and development cooperation in the region and the world. The two leaders affirmed the need to respect the UN Charter and international law in cooperation in handling regional issues. They agreed that disputes in the East Sea should be solved by peaceful measures on the basis of international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea. They also emphasised the need to work towards the formation of a Code of Conduct in the East Sea, ensure maritime and aviation security and safety, and not use force. The Vietnamese PM reaffirmed that the Government will soon submit the Trans-Pacific Partnerahip (TPP) to the National Assembly for ratification and asked President Obama to continue boosting the US Congress’s ratification of the document. On the same day, the US leader was welcomed by Vietnamese National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan. Both sides showed their hope that the two countries’ legislatures will intensify cooperation to bring about practical benefits to their people and to foster the two countries’ development.-VNA