HCM City (VNA) - The US C𝕴onsulate General in Ho Chi Minh City hosted a ceremony on June 27 𝄹to mark the 249th anniversary of the US Independence Day (July 4), underscoring the growing strength and depth of Vietnam -US relations.
In his address, Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Van Duoc highlighted the robust trade between the city and the US, which topped 10.7 billion USD in 2024, a sharp 42% hike from a year before. The US is pumping 1.4 billion USD into 680 projects across the city.
Locality-to-locality cooperation continues to play a crucial role in bolstering people-to-people exchanges, a key foundation for the Vietnam-US comprehensive strategic partnership, especially amid today’s complex global landscape, he said.
He believed that with businesses, local authorities, and citizens working in harmony, both countries would unlock shared potential for common development and prosperity, making the partnership increasingly practical, effective, and enduring.
US Consul General Susan Burns called the event a powerful reminder of the deepening bilateral relationship and an opportunity to honour the joint efforts in building mutual trust and understanding, and advancing people-to-people diplomacy.
She pointed to US companies and organisations racing to invest in Vietnam, particularly in Ho Chi Minh City as a proof of the bond’s depth and importance. She looked ahead with confidence, reaffirming a shared commitment to building a better future together./.
The US remained Vietnam’s largest market, accounting for 55% of the country's total wood exports. Key products include wooden furniture, plywood, doors, and handicrafts.
Knapper reaffirmed the US's commitment to supporting a strong, independent, prosperous and resilient Vietnam, while respecting each other’s territorial integrity, sovereignty, independence and political systems.
Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son separately met with Lao, Cambodian and Thai foreign ministers on the sidelines of the 58th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM 58) and Post Ministerial Conferences in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on July 8.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son commended the AICHR’s contributions over the past 15 years and expressed confidence in its continued role in advancing the realisation of the ASEAN Community Vision 2045 and other regional cooperation strategies.
The amnesty embodies the Party and State’s dual approach: strict legal enforcement paired with humane and rehabilitative policies toward remorseful offenders, said Permanent Deputy PM Nguyen Hoa Binh.
Knapper described the Joint Statement on the upgrade of bilateral ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in September 2023, signed by Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and President Joe Biden, as a "historic achievement", with both sides valuing collaboration in high technology, particularly semiconductors.
APEC Economic Leaders’ Week 2027 is a major international event receiving close attention and guidance from the Party General Secretary, the Party, the State, and the Government, with support provided through 10 special policies for Kien Giang province (now An Giang province).
PM Pham Minh Chinh ’s July 4–8 trip to Brazil aimed to further implement Vietnam’s foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, and diversification and multilateralisation of external relations. It conveyed Vietnam’s image as a trusted partner in the international community, adding new dimensions to strategic partnerships and opening a new chapter of cooperation that meets the needs and interests of both countries, especially in a time of complex global developments.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasised that the Party and State of Vietnam highly valued the diverse and substantive outcomes of recent high-level exchanges, which have helped advance the relationship between the two Parties and the two countries.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh held separate meetings with UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Belarusian Foreign Minister Maxim Ryzhenkov, and UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Ahmed Ali Bin Al Sayegh in Rio de Janeiro on July 7 (local time) as part of his Brazil visit for the expanded BRICS Summit.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh proposed the two sides soon negotiate and sign an agreement on investment promotion and protection, an agreement on visa exemption for ordinary passport holders, and an agreement on cooperation in science and technology, innovation, and digital transformation.
PM Chinh proposed that the two countries jointly develop an action plan to implement the comprehensive strategic partnership for the 2025–2030 period, while promoting cooperation in economy, trade, investment, agriculture, and emerging sectors such as digital economy, green transition and energy.
He reaffirmed Vietnam’s strong commitment to reaching net zero emissions by 2050, and its readiness to contribute responsibly and actively to global environmental and health cooperation.
Vietnam treasures and promotes multifaceted cooperation with Chile, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said during his meeting with Chilean President Gabriel Boric Font on the sidelines of the expanded BRICS summit on July 7 (local time).
UNESCO was founded on November 16, 1945, and Vietnam officially became a member of the organisation in July 1976, marking one of the country’s important steps in the process of global integration.
Party General Secretary To Lam, State President Luong Cuong, and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on July 7 sent messages of sympathy to US President Donald Trump upon receiving news of the devastating flash floods that struck Kerr county, Texas, on July 4.
Over the years, the State has conducted multiple rounds, benefiting hundreds of thousands of prisoners who qualified for amnesty due to good conduct, learning, and working, allowing them to reintegrate into the community and society.
Committee members voiced support for a project on studying the establishment of a public lawyer mechanism in the socialist rule-of-law State of Vietnam. They said such research will help meet the practical need of protecting State interests, as government agencies and state-owned enterprises are facing growing legal risks related to foreign investment and trade, as well as civil, administrative, financial, asset, and land-related relationships.
In the first half, Vietnam's defence cooperation with other countries, particularly with neighbours and key partners, was strengthened. Meanwhile, multilateral defence diplomacy contributed to building trust, securing international support, and advancing collaboration in other areas.
In the first half of 2025, the Party Central Committee, and its Politburo and Secretariat issued over 100 documents on Party building and the prevention and control of corruption, wastefulness, and other negative phenomena. The National Assembly amended several articles of the 2013 Constitution, and passed 38 laws and 45 resolutions.
