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Success follows policy shift

The Vietnam-US partnership has proved fruitful and
stemmed from a new foreign policy adopted 30 years ago.

QUOC UY Reports

ore than 30 years ago, as a polit-
ical crisis swept through the
M Soviet Union and other socialist
countries in Eastern Europe, the world’s
geopolitical structure was forecast to take
on a new shape. In such a context, Vietnam’s
foreign policy makers were, for the first
time ever, free from ideological thought,
and thus proposed a policy shift. As a result,
a policy of equal and mutually-beneficial
cooperation with all nations, regardless of
their socio-political system, was adopted
by the 7th National Party Congress in 1991.
This change was then considered a
breakthrough in Vietnam’s foreign policy,
as five years earlier, in 1986, the 6th
National Party Congress kept a focus on
“strengthening the special relationship
among the three Indochinese countries
as well as comprehensive friendship and
cooperation with the Soviet Union and
other socialist countries.”
Vietnam and the US may not have seen
relations normalized in 1995 if there had
been no such breakthrough.
“Let us now lay our past of conflict to
rest, and dedicate ourselves to a future of
productive cooperation,” was the clear
message from Vietnam to the US.
Five years after the normalization of
relations, Vietnam and the US signed a been among the major foreign investors White House noted in a statement released
bilateral trade agreement. Then, in 2006, in Vietnam, with nearly 1,150 projects on August 25, 2021 during the visit to Viet-
the latter gave the former permanent nor- underway and registered capital totaling nam by Vice President Kamala Harris.
mal trade relations status. A year later, in more than $10.3 billion. It stressed that “a vibrant Vietnamese
2007, the two signed the Trade and Invest- Addressing the fifth Vietnam-US Busi- economy is critical to the supply chains
ment Framework Agreement. And they ness Summit in Hanoi on March 8, Prime Americans depend on, a point that Covid-
then reached a new high, establishing a Minister Pham Minh Chinh highlighted 19 has made clear when production shut-
comprehensive partnership in 2013. the progress made in Vietnam-US relations downs abroad have led to difficulties in
Such great strides forward have marked in all fields over the 26 years since nor- shipping goods at home,” adding that “the
historic milestones on the path to working malization, with economic-trade-invest- already-robust and growing partnership
side-by-side, with the two having overcome ment cooperation being a key pillar. between our peoples has resulted in nearly
their difficult shared past to become He called on businesses in both countries 30,000 Vietnamese studying in the US,
trusted partners. to strengthen their partnerships to promote contributing nearly $1 billion to the US
Bilateral cooperation between Vietnam the practical and effective relationship. economy, and the opening of a Peace Corps
and the US has resulted in concrete achieve- “With a motto of harmonious interests office in Hanoi.”
ments from which both have benefited. and shared risks, sincere sentiments and Meanwhile, the two countries’ security
Over the past 26 years and more, two- trust, we already have a good foundation relationship has dramatically expanded as
way trade turnover between Vietnam and and strong ambition and determination, the US supports Vietnam’s independence
the US rose 247-fold, from $450 million and we will surely succeed,” the Prime and sovereignty, particularly in the mar-
in 1995 to more than $111 billion in 2021. Minister stressed. itime domain, the statement said.
The US is now Vietnam’s largest export The US has, for its part, appreciated With its continual positive development,
market, with export value accounting for its relationship with Vietnam too. the Vietnam-US partnership has become a
28.6 per cent of the total in 2021, while “We have deepened our economic ties fine example of Vietnam’s success in multi-
Vietnam is the US’s ninth-largest trade as Vietnam’s second-largest trading partner lateral diplomacy since 1991, when its policy
partner. For many years now, the US has and its top export market worldwide,” the makers decided not to take sides. %

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