By Prashanth Parameswaran
General Secretary urges both sides to advance their relationship in a major policy speech.
The United States and Vietnam should look to boost their defense and economic ties, the leader of the Vietnamese Communist Party said today in a policy speech delivered in Washington, D.C.
Nguyen Phu Trong, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, told an audience at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, that he hoped that Washington and Hanoi could advance their relationship further as they commemorate the 20th anniversary of the normalization of their ties.
“We have much to do,” Trong said in an address as part of his historic visit to the United States – the first of its kind since normalization – which included a meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama yesterday.
On defense and security, Trong called on the United States and Vietnam to expand their cooperation on law enforcement, counterterrorism and maritime security. He also urged Washington to help address Vietnam’s large defense needs by deepening collaboration in the areas of oil and gas exploration and providing vessels for maritime security.
“I think the needs are huge,” he said.
Read the full story at The Diplomat