Sharing on December 30, US Ambassador to Vietnam Marc E. Napper affirmed that the past 3 decades have been a journey of profound transformation, from closing the past, building trust, to expanding comprehensive cooperation in many fields, for the common interests of the people of the two countries as well as peace, stability and prosperity of the region.
The 30th anniversary of the relationship was marked by a series of practical and meaningful activities. In the field of higher education, Vietnam welcomed a delegation from the largest US universities to date to visit and work, opening up many new opportunities for academic exchange, training linkages and scientific research. Vietnam became the 5th largest country in terms of the number of overseas students in the US, with about 36,000 people studying. More than 9,000 former Vietnamese students who participated in exchange programs funded by the US Government have created a connected community, playing an important bridging role in bilateral relations.
In the field of culture, the series of commemorative activities has brought the common stories of the two nations closer to the public. Four Friendship Festivals are held in many localities across the country, along with creative collaboration with rapper Suboi in the music video "Never Before", spreading a message about the connection between Vietnamese and American people in modern artistic language.
Defense and security cooperation continues to be an important pillar of the two countries' relations. The visit to Hanoi by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth in November, or the arrival of USS Tripoli and USS Robert Smalls at Da Nang port in December, have become vivid symbols of increasing credibility. Two annual dialogues on defense and security cooperation and law enforcement held in Washington continue to contribute to strengthening the foundation of long-term cooperation.
The Vietnam-US partnership also clearly demonstrates humanity through humanitarian assistance activities. The US has supported Vietnam with 1.75 million USD to overcome storm and flood damage. The "Pacific Friends" program was first implemented between the US Army in the Pacific and Quang Tri province, focusing on improving medical capacity and disaster response. Positive progress in handling dioxin pollution at Bien Hoa airport continues to affirm the US commitment to overcoming the consequences of war, while promoting a future-oriented agenda.
In the economic field, bilateral trade relations continue to grow strongly. Vietnam - US trade turnover in 2024 has exceeded the 150 billion USD mark, making the US the leading export market and the second largest trading partner of Vietnam. More than 100 Vietnamese businesses - a record number - attended the 11th SelectUSA Investment Summit, opening up many new investment cooperation opportunities. Agricultural cooperation has also been promoted, with Vietnam currently the 10th largest US agricultural product import market in the world.
Notably, cooperation in the field of digital technology is becoming a new driving force of bilateral relations. US Government programs and the participation of many leading technology corporations such as Meta, Google, NVIDIA, Qualcomm and AWS are accompanying ministries, sectors, universities and Vietnamese startups in developing artificial intelligence infrastructure, human resource training and promoting national digital transformation.
Ambassador Marc E. Napper affirmed that towards the new year, Vietnam and the United States continue to share the commitment to deepen partnerships, for a safer and more prosperous future for the two countries and for the entire Indo-Pacific region.
