Hanoi, January 11, 2026 – The Europe Today: Việt Nam attaches great importance to its relations with the United States and wishes to continue strengthening the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for the benefit of the two countries’ people and for peace, cooperation, and development in the region and the world, Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính said on Saturday while receiving outgoing US Ambassador to Việt Nam Marc Knapper.
At the meeting, the Prime Minister highly appreciated the close coordination and active role of Ambassador Knapper and the US Embassy, which contributed to major milestones in bilateral relations over the past four years, particularly the upgrade of ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, laying a solid foundation for a new phase of development.
PM Chính reaffirmed that Việt Nam consistently pursues a foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, peace, friendship, cooperation, multilateralisation, and diversification of external relations, while maintaining its defence policy of the “Four No’s”.
Looking ahead, he noted that the two countries should continue to promote exchanges of delegations at all levels to consolidate political trust and create new momentum for further strengthening bilateral ties.
Emphasising that economic and trade cooperation is a key pillar of Việt Nam–US relations, the Prime Minister commended Ambassador Knapper’s role in opening markets for goods from both sides and in encouraging US businesses to increase investment and expand operations in Việt Nam.
He proposed that the US step up cooperation with Việt Nam in technology transfer and digital transformation, soon recognise Việt Nam’s market economy status, and remove the country from the lists of nations subject to restrictions on high-tech exports, including categories D1 and D3.
Expressing confidence in future progress, PM Chính said the two sides would soon conclude negotiations on a reciprocal, fair, and balanced trade agreement, helping to create a stable business environment and deliver tangible benefits for their respective business communities.
The Prime Minister also underscored the special significance of cooperation in addressing war legacy issues, describing it as a key factor in building trust, promoting reconciliation, and enhancing mutual understanding. He acknowledged Ambassador Knapper’s persistent efforts in this area and called for continued close cooperation.
On international and regional issues of shared concern, PM Chính stressed the importance of upholding the United Nations Charter and international law, and of resolving disputes by peaceful means. He urged the US to continue supporting ASEAN’s stance on regional matters and efforts to maintain peace, stability, security, safety, and freedom of navigation and overflight in the region in accordance with international law.
For his part, Ambassador Knapper expressed his pleasure at witnessing the increasingly substantive and comprehensive development of bilateral relations across all fields, describing Việt Nam–US ties as a model in international relations. He thanked the Prime Minister for his support for the advancement of the partnership.
The ambassador agreed that the two sides should further expand cooperation in key areas, including political and diplomatic relations, security and defence, trade and investment, energy, humanitarian cooperation and war legacy remediation, science and technology, and the training of high-quality human resources.
He expressed confidence that the Việt Nam–US Comprehensive Strategic Partnership would continue to grow strongly and affirmed that, in whatever capacity, he would remain a friend of Việt Nam and continue contributing to the development of bilateral relations.
