Landmark visit to leverage US ties

At the invitation of US President Donald Trump, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc will pay an official visit to the United States of America from May 29-31. The two leaders will hold bilateral talks focussing on trade and investment co-operation, according to Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA).

Phuc is also expected to meet with 15 CEOs from some of the largest US companies. Enterprises of both countries will discuss co-operation deals worth around $10 billion, in sectors such as aircraft and engine production, as well as oil and gas.

It is expected that a joint statement on the two countries’ future relations will be released during the visit.

The MoFA said this visit will serve to “continue the implementation the country’s diplomatic policy of independence, self-reliance, multi-lateralising and diversifying relations, and active international integration”.

“Vietnam persistently attaches great importance to developing its relations with the US, and stands ready to co-operate with Donald Trump’s administration, further boosting the two countries’ bilateral relations,” an MoFA document on the visit states.

A statement on the visit released last week by the White House also said, “President Trump looks forward to discussing ways to strengthen our bilateral relationship and deepen regional co-operation with one of America’s most important partners in Southeast Asia.”

On May 22, US Ambassador to Vietnam Ted Osius officially handed over six 45-foot Metal Shark patrol boats to the Vietnam Coast Guard (VCG) in the south-central province of Quang Nam’s Region II, marking another important step in the expanding security co-operation between the US and Vietnam.

The patrol boats will assist VCG Region II in conducting coastal patrols, and policing smuggling, piracy and illegal fishing.

Osius said that apart from cementing the security co-operation with Vietnam, the US also wishes to further its investment and trade ties with the country.

According to Osius, the US withdrawal from Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) understandably left many in Vietnam with unanswered questions. “My response to all has been consistent: US policies may change as a natural result of the democratic process, but our fundamental interests in Vietnam remain the same. The future of the US-Vietnam bilateral economic relationship remains as bright as ever,” Osius stressed.

He said the two countries’ greatest interest, and the foundation of the future of that relationship, is their continued trade growth. “With or without TPP, we live in a globally integrated economy, and within that system it’s simply not possible for two vibrant economies like ours to isolate themselves from each other.”

Osius continued, “With 93 million potential customers and one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, Vietnam presents enormous opportunities both for the export of American products and for the investment of American capital.”

According to AmCham Vietnam, over the past two decades, bilateral trade has grown from about $500 million to over $52 billion as of last year. Still, the US maintains a trade deficit with Vietnam which totalled $32 billion in 2016.

Vietnam is the largest exporter to the US in the ASEAN region.

“We will work with US investors so they can access the many opportunities that exist here in Vietnam. We will continue to advocate for measures to make it easier for small and medium enterprises to do business here,” Osius said.

According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, by late March 2017, the US was Vietnam’s ninth largest foreign investor, with 834 valid investment projects registered at $10.2 billion.

During his time in the US, Prime Minister Phuc will also meet with United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, and attend a ceremony to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Vietnam’s entry into the UN.

It is expected that President Trump will come to Vietnam to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit which will be held in the south-central city of Danang in November 2017.