US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, meets with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at the Office of the Government in Hanoi, Vietnam, April 15, 2023. (PHOTO / AP)
HANOI – Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday expressed a desire to deepen and upgrade their ties.
In his first visit to the key southeast Asian country as the top US diplomat, Blinken kicked off his trip with a meeting with the prime minister.
We have now hope to be able to take it to an even higher level, deepening even further the economic partnerships.
Antony Blinken, US Secretary of State
In brief remarks before their meeting, he said during the past decade there has been "extraordinary progress" in ties between the two countries.
"We have now hope to be able to take it to an even higher level, deepening even further the economic partnerships," Blinken said, while noting the two nations mark the 10th anniversary of their formal partnership this year.
Chinh said both sides were looking to elevate ties "to a new height", after a phone call last month between President Joe Biden and the head of Communist Party of Vietnam, Nguyen Phu Trong, a conversation he said yielded “great success”.
The diplomatic anniversary and the Biden-Trong call could lead to a meeting between the two in July or other high-level meetings, analysts say. It is still unclear, though, when an upgrade of formal ties could be agreed.
Blinken also broke ground on a new US embassy compound in Hanoi after meeting the prime minister, a project years in the making that he said represents "a significant step" towards strengthening ties.
After meeting with foreign minister Bui Thanh Son, Blinken is set to get together with Trong, before he departs on Sunday for Japan to attend a meeting of foreign ministers of the Group of Seven wealthy nations.