Receiving Lesten Crown, Chairman of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, in Hanoi on March 8, Mr Dung proposed that the US administration offer free trade area preferences, remove trade barriers for Vietnamese goods imported to its market, and assist Vietnam in coping with climate change and rising sea levels.

Briefing his guest on Vietnam’s socio-economic development, Mr Dung said Vietnam has maintained political stability and achieved positive results in economic development. He said Vietnam is a market economy which is integrating deep into the global economy. As a WTO member, the country has developed bilateral trade ties with the US, European Union and many other countries and international organisations in the world.

Mr Dung affirmed that the US is one of Vietnam’s big trading partners, with two-way trade last year reaching US$15 billion, a 10-fold in crease from 2001. It is also one of the largest foreign investors in this Southeast Asian nation.

The PM assured his guest that the Vietnamese government encourages foreign investors, including those from the US, to do long-term business in the country.

He also highlighted progress made in bilateral cooperation in education, training, national defence, security and diplomacy, as well as in addressing climate change.

Mr Dung noted that the US-waged war killed approximately 2 million Vietnamese people, hundreds of thousands remained missing, and some 2 million suffered from the Agent Orange used by the US army during the war. The vestiges of this deadly toxin are still lingering on millions of Vietnamese and many are still victims of unexploded mines in their daily life. 

He called on the US to take specific action together with Vietnam to overcome the war aftermath through searching for personnel missing in action, clearing bombs and mines, decontaminating chemical-sprayed areas and training human resources.

Over the past years, Vietnam has cooperated effectively with the US in searching for US personnel missing in action, said Mr Dung.

For his part, Lesten Crown expressed his admiration for Vietnam’s impressive achievements and said the country is an attractive destination for US investors. He proposed that Vietnam continue to offer incentives for US investors, including those from Chicago, to operate efficiently in the country.