AMM 59: FM Le Hoai Trung, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio agree to deepen and substantively advance the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership
WVR - On July 23, Politburo Member and Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung met with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the occasion of the 59th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting (AMM 59) in Manila, Philippines.
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| Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. (Photo: Bao Chi) |
Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung highly appreciated Secretary Marco Rubio's participation and positive contributions at ASEAN meetings, demonstrating the U.S.'s commitment to cooperation and active presence for peace, stability, and prosperity in the region, as well as ASEAN's central role.
During the meeting, Minister Le Hoai Trung affirmed that Vietnam regards the United States as one of its foremost important partners and hopes to continue deepening, enhancing, and broadening the bilateral relationship in a comprehensive and effective manner, aligning with the interests of the peoples of both nations and contributing positively to peace, stability, cooperation, and development in the region and in the world.
On this occasion, Minister Le Hoai Trung asked Secretary Marco Rubio to convey a message from General Secretary and President To Lam to President Donald Trump, emphasising the importance of and desire to further promote the increasingly substantive development of bilateral relations.
Minister Le Hoai Trung praised the close coordination between the Foreign Ministry of Vietnam and the US State Department since the beginning of the year, which has contributed to promoting cooperation bilaterally, regionally, and internationally. He suggested that the two foreign ministries continue to play a coordinating role in promoting exchanges at all levels, especially high-level exchanges in the near future, and maintain and enhance the effectiveness of bilateral dialogue mechanisms across various fields.
Expressing agreement with Minister Le Hoai Trung's assessments, Secretary Marco Rubio affirmed that Vietnam-U.S. relations are maintaining a positive development trajectory and have achieved significant results recently. He noted that these achievements continue to affirm the message that Vietnam-U.S. cooperative relations bring tangible benefits to the peoples of both countries and contribute positively to peace, stability, and development in the region and the world.
Regarding economic and trade cooperation, Minister Le Hoai Trung reaffirmed Vietnam's determination to work with the United States to soon conclude negotiations on a reciprocal, fair, and balanced trade agreement between Vietnam and the U.S. He expressed confidence that the agreement will serve as a driving force and key foundation for the two countries to enter a new phase of more effective and stable cooperation.
Minister Le Hoai Trung proposed that both sides maintain positive, constructive exchanges to address remaining differences based on a comprehensive, long-term view of bilateral relations and ensure the legitimate interests of each side. He urged for an early conclusion of the Section 301 investigation with conclusions that fully acknowledge Vietnam's efforts, in line with the U.S.'s support for a strong, independent, resilient, and prosperous Vietnam.
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| Meeting scene. (Photo: Bao Chi) |
Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung emphasised that Vietnam always values and creates the most favourable conditions for U.S. businesses to operate and invest in Vietnam for the long term with high quality. He noted that Vietnam is proactively reviewing and improving its legal system towards transparency, modernity, and synchronization, thereby continuing to improve the investment and business environment and facilitating market access.
Secretary Marco Rubio affirmed that economic and trade cooperation remains a crucial foundation of bilateral relations. He suggested that both sides maintain close exchanges and expressed hope that Vietnam and the U.S. will soon reach a high-standard, reciprocal, fair, and balanced trade agreement, thereby creating additional economic opportunities, jobs, and benefits for both countries.
Secretary Marco Rubio also agreed with Minister Le Hoai Trung on the need for both countries to jointly develop a comprehensive cooperation plan in economic-trade, security-defense, science-technology, education, and people-to-people exchanges, thereby continuing to develop the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in a substantive manner.
Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung and Secretary Marco Rubio agreed that the two countries should maintain the pace of defense-security cooperation in line with each country's needs and expectation and the practical situation. They committed to actively implementing the outcomes of recent meetings and visits by defense officials from both countries.
Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung also acknowledged that the U.S. defense industry will continue to have a presence and contribute to the success of the Vietnam International Defense Exhibition at the end of 2026.
Both sides agreed to continue cooperation in addressing war legacies, handling dioxin contamination, clearing unexploded ordnance, supporting persons with disabilities, searching for missing U.S. military personnel from the war, as well as searching, gathering, and identifying the remains of Vietnamese martyrs.
Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung shared about the efforts of the Party and Government of Vietnam in intensifying the search, gathering, and identification of Vietnamese martyrs' remains. He also appreciated the significant contributions in terms of records, information, and materials, as well as DNA testing technology from the U.S. side, and requested that the U.S. continue to maintain, expand cooperation, and allocate appropriate resources for this field.
The two officials emphasised their commitment to continue close cooperation on regional and international issues, contributing to maintaining a peaceful, stable, cooperative, and developing environment in the region and the world. Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung welcomed and affirmed Vietnam's support for the U.S. in successfully organizing the G20 Leaders' Summit in Miami, Florida, in December 2026.
Secretary Marco Rubio affirmed that the U.S. will actively participate in and support Vietnam in successfully organizing the APEC Year 2027.
On this occasion, Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung extended a cordial invitation to Secretary Marco Rubio to visit Vietnam at a convenient time, and Secretary Marco Rubio gladly accepted the invitation.
