On July 23, Politburo Member, Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung had a meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the sidelines of the 59th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting (AMM-59) in Manila, Philippines.
According to the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at the meeting, Minister Le Hoai Trung reaffirmed Vietnam's determination to work with the US to soon conclude negotiations on a reciprocal, fair and balanced Vietnam-US trade agreement; believing that the agreement will be the driving force and key foundation for the two countries to enter a new phase of more effective and stable cooperation.
Minister Le Hoai Trung requested the two sides to maintain positive, constructive and goodwill exchanges, handle outstanding issues based on a comprehensive and long-term view of the relationship between the two countries and ensure the legitimate interests of each side, and soon conclude the investigation according to Section 301 with conclusions based on fully recognizing Vietnam's efforts, in line with the spirit of the United States supporting a strong, independent, self-reliant and prosperous Vietnam.
Minister Le Hoai Trung emphasized that Vietnam always values and creates the most favorable conditions for US businesses to operate and invest long-term and high-quality in Vietnam; said that Vietnam is proactively reviewing and perfecting the legal system towards transparency, modernity, and synchronization, thereby continuing to improve the investment and business environment and further facilitate market access.
Foreign Minister Marco Rubio affirmed that economic and trade cooperation continues to be an important foundation of bilateral relations; said that the two sides need to maintain close exchanges and hope that Vietnam and the US will soon reach a high-standard, reciprocal, fair and balanced trade agreement, thereby creating more economic opportunities, jobs and benefits for both countries.
Minister Le Hoai Trung and Foreign Minister Marco Rubio agreed that the two countries need to maintain the pace of defense and security cooperation in accordance with the needs and desires of each country and the actual situation; actively implement the results of meetings and visits of defense officials of the two countries in the past time.
Minister Le Hoai Trung also acknowledged that the US defense industry will continue to have a presence and contribute to the success of the Vietnam International Defense Exhibition at the end of 2026.
The two sides agreed to continue to cooperate in overcoming the consequences of war, treating dioxin pollution, clearing bombs and mines, supporting people with disabilities, searching for missing US soldiers in the war, as well as searching, repatriating and identifying the remains of Vietnamese martyrs.
Minister Le Hoai Trung shared about the efforts of the Party and Government of Vietnam in promoting the search, repatriation and identification of remains of Vietnamese martyrs, and highly appreciated the important contribution of records, information and documents, DNA testing technology from the US side and requested the US side to continue to maintain and expand cooperation and allocate appropriate resources for this field.
