Responding to a question from the Viet Nam News Agency (VNA) on how the two countries could make their upgraded partnership more substantive and results-oriented, the ambassador said the two sides share similar thinking on what the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership should mean in practice, including the specific activities and projects needed to give substance to the relationship.
As an example, she pointed to the recent successful visit by the USS George Washington aircraft carrier to Viet Nam’s central coastal city of Da Nang. The bilateral partnership, she said, has a forward-looking agenda spanning politics, security, law enforcement, the economy, health, education and people-to-people ties, with the broader goal of advancing prosperity and security for both peoples.
She noted that the approaching third anniversary of the establishment of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership provides a timely opportunity to advance the bilateral relationship further.
Economic and commercial cooperation is among the ambassador’s major priorities during her tenure. Wicks said she will advocate for US companies and the private sector while working to ensure that Vietnamese authorities and consumers are aware of the high-quality products and services that US businesses can offer. Since arriving in Viet Nam, she said she has already engaged on opportunities in sectors including aviation, energy, technology and defence.
The ambassador also welcomed the Vietnamese Government’s willingness to engage with the US side and American companies on concerns related to market access and regulatory and other business challenges, with a view to ensuring a level playing field for US firms.
On defence and security cooperation, the ambassador highlighted the progress the two countries have made from addressing the legacies of war to working together in wider areas of shared interest.
She described war legacy programmes as an important foundation for the growing trust between Viet Nam and the US, saying they demonstrate how Vietnamese and Americans can work side by side towards common goals.
Asked about future cooperation in identifying the missing, she said the US support could draw on government resources and technology as well as expertise from the private sector and educational institutions.
Education and people-to-people exchanges are another important pillar of the relationship and Viet Nam ranks first in ASEAN and among the leading countries worldwide in the number of students studying in the US, according to the ambassador.
Concluding the roundtable, the ambassador pledged to work to advance the two countries’ shared interests and achieve positive outcomes for both Viet Nam and the US.
