Socialist Republic of Vietnam

(Washington D.C., 21 June 2005)

Senator McCain, Deputy Secretary Zoelick, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It gives me great pleasure to speak a today’s Gala dinner. Your presence here tonight shows your keen interest in Vietnam, in the development of Vietnam-U.S. relations for the benefits of both peoples.

Let me thank the Vietnam-U.S. Trade Council, the ASEAN-U.S. Business Council, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and all the sponsors for creating this great opportunity for us to meet today – an event that would have been hardly possible only ten years ago.

My visit to America this time is the first ever trip by a Head of Government of Vietnam. It coincides with the 10th anniversary of the normalization of relations between the two countries, an event that has come down in the history of our relations as an important milestone. Our visit, especially my talks with President Bush at the White House, proves that we have together dispelled the shadow of the past so as to shed the light of our future cooperation – a future relationship of equality, mutual respect and benefit.

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1995, the relationship between the two countries has grown in many areas. Both sides have not only cooperated in settling issues of the past, but more importantly we have joined hands in laying the foundation for the future. Good progress has been made in political, economic, educational, cultural and science and technology areas. And even initial steps have been taken to establish cooperation in the security and defense area. With the Bilateral Trade Agreement, America has become Vietnam’s top trading partner, with two-way trade increasing by 20 times as compared to 1995. And today a series of major agreements and contracts have been signed. These achievements are to attributable to your contributions, your far-sighted vision and your support for the Vietnam-US cooperation. I want to thank you all for those efforts.

The scope of our bilateral cooperation, however, remains modest, particularly given the fact America is the world leading power in economic, cultural, science and technology development with tremendous interests Asia and the Pacific, of which Vietnam is an important part.

The purpose of my visit to the U.S. this time is to relay to the American people a clear and strong message that is the Government and people of Vietnam wish to develop friendly relations, constructive partnership, and comprehensive, stable and long-term cooperation with the US on the basis of equality, mutual respect and benefits. I am pleased to note that President Bush also shares with me that message.

I believe we are fully able to and have common interests in striving for this goal. You can find in Vietnam a partner full of potential and with bright prospect. Vietnam today is known as a success story in reforms and transition to a market economy while securing social justice. Vietnam is also well known for being a country that is safe, stable and has high and sustained economic growth for consecutive years, a country that is proactively engaging the world economy, doing its best to soon join the World Trade Organization, and playing an active role in ASEAN, APEC and the East Asian cooperation arrangements.

Aware of the major development trends of the global economy and for our own development interests, we are actively working on improving our legal framework, creating all favorable conditions for domestic and foreign enterprises operating in Vietnam.

In a nutshell, as a stable and safe country which is carrying out reforms to promote national development, wishing to be a friend and reliable partner of all countries in the international community, striving for peace, independence and development, including efforts to strengthen multi-faceted partnership with America, Vietnam is indeed a promising destination for American businesses.

May I wish you every success and all the best. May the Vietnam-U.S. relations continue to grow.