Bilateral trust is deepening

Trust builds on goodwill and sincerity

In mid-July 2018, leaving Noi Bai airport at midnight to go to receive the assignment of Vietnamese Ambassador to the US, Ambassador Ha Kim Ngoc recalled the departure also in the middle of the night more than 20 years ago to open the Consulate General in Vietnam. San Francisco. “Things have changed so quickly! Vietnam – US relations have made great strides, exceeding all expectations,” he said.

“My first impression as an Ambassador is that the way the United States and Americans see Vietnam has changed profoundly” – the Ambassador revealed. According to him, now, Vietnam is a hot topic in the US, with unprecedented high interest of all genders. “Everywhere I go, every American I meet, there is an interesting story about Vietnam to tell me. Instead of me promoting Vietnam, they told me about my country passionately and sympathetically. They are Vietnam’s emissaries in the US,” the Vietnamese diplomat shared in an article on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of Vietnam-US relations in 2020.

According to Ambassador Ha Kim Ngoc, relations have progressed rapidly since normalization not simply because Vietnam and the US share common interests, but “no less important is the way the two countries behave towards each other”. believes that “every act of cooperation is a building block of trust”, and trust is an extremely important factor in relations between countries.

Trust is always the solid foundation of all relationships, whether it is between individuals, groups, countries or between peoples. As Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh wrote in the special issue commemorating the 25th anniversary of Vietnam-US relations in 2020: “Trust is built, nurtured and nurtured through practical actions, rooted in goodwill and sincerity. The fact that the relationship between Vietnam and the US also proves that. Between the two countries, once “former enemies”, the element of trust is even more important. In fact, the first bricks to build trust between the two sides came from cooperation in overcoming the consequences of war.”

Ambassador Ha Kim Ngoc once emphasized that: “25 years! The road from former enemies to friends is not easy. The reality today is still the same in international relations. But with vision, political determination, goodwill. With great efforts from both sides and respect for each other’s political institutions, Vietnam and the US have turned the impossible into reality: being each other’s comprehensive partners.

The US Ambassador to Vietnam for the 2017-2021 term, Daniel Kritenbrink, once said, “The progress of the US-Vietnam bilateral relationship is extraordinary”. “When I hear people say that the achievement in the US-Vietnam relationship is a miracle, I am reminded of the words of Ambassador Peterson: Although the progress we have made is remarkable, But it’s not a coincidence. Everything we’ve achieved is built on courage, goodwill and efforts from those who have gone before. The strong Comprehensive Partnership we have today. is the result of countless activities and decades of sincere dedication by individuals in both countries,” said the diplomat who is now Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs.

The issue of trust has also been mentioned by generations of US ambassadors, including US Ambassador to Vietnam for the 2014-2017 term Ted Osius. Noting, “healing is never easy”, Ted Osius pointed out: “The reconciliation process requires diligence, courage, concessions and even a sense of humanity on the part of brothers and sisters. , friends and loved ones hurt on both sides. Day by day, for 25 years, Vietnam and the US have pursued that process. Together, we have found what remains of you. deceased, clearing and detonating unexploded ordnance, and disinfecting Agent Orange.Step by step, bilateral trust has deepened, allowing us to become, if not allies, then also a close economic and security partner.

Leaving behind conflict, hatred and looking to the future

Mr. Pete Peterson, US Ambassador to Vietnam for the period 1997-2001 once shared that, for him, the most challenging thing after the official agreement to normalize diplomatic relations between the US and Vietnam was signed was “the construction of the reciprocal trust”, which can only be achieved step-by-step through the implementation of commitments and practical actions. Vietnamese rights,” he said.

Many Vietnamese consider US President Bill Clinton’s official visit to Vietnam in 2000, especially the photo of the president shaking hands with Vietnamese people on the balcony, as a symbol of the revival of Vietnam-Vietnam relations. America. Accompanying President Bill Clinton and being present when that historic photo was taken, the first US Ambassador to Vietnam after 1975 Pete Peterson said: “When I saw this photo in newspapers in Vietnam, The next day, I said to myself, well, President Clinton did a better job of tightening the US-Vietnam relationship in just a moment and more than any other officials on either side. did during the past three challenging diplomatic years.”

“I was extremely happy and proud because the photo serves as a symbol of the meaning of bilateral relations, leadership and humanity, leaving behind conflicts and hatreds of the past” – Mr. added.

Sharing the happiness of contributing a part to building the US-Vietnam relationship, US Ambassador to Vietnam for the 2001-2004 term Raymond Burghardt pointed out: “It is extremely important and part of the process. the normalization process, even before 1995, it was the relationship between the two countries that was bigger than the government relationship. The relationship between the people of the two countries is also very strong. The 2nd US Ambassador to the reunified Vietnam, who worked at the US Embassy in Saigon for 2 and a half years in the 1970s and back in 1982 when the two sides started the process of normalizing relations, “I think Vietnamese and Americans really like each other. We are both very practical and forward-looking people. Everyone is well aware of what happened in the past; That war will never be forgotten.”

After 32 years in the diplomatic service, including 27 years working abroad and working in many countries, but with Mr. Michael Marine – US Ambassador to Vietnam for the 2004-2007 term, Vietnamese people are very especially. “The Vietnamese are the most hardworking and down-to-earth of all the places I’ve been to. That practical thought is the commendable quality of the Vietnamese people.” “After my term ended, I told Americans that Vietnam was ready to be friends with the US long before the US was ready to build relations with Vietnam. It is we who are slow to adapt, because Vietnamese people do not forget the past, but they do not live in the past but focus on the future” – the American diplomat traveled to 62 provinces of Vietnam in the past year. throughout the term, said.