Sunday, October 6, 2013

U.S.-VIETNAM JOINT STATEMENT ON SECURITY AND DEFENSE DIALOGUE

FROM:  U.S.STATE DEPARTMENT 
Joint Statement on the Sixth U.S.-Vietnam Political, Security, and Defense Dialogue
Media Note
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
October 1, 2013

The text of the following statement was released by the Governments of the United States of America and Vietnam on the occasion of the Sixth U.S.-Vietnam Political, Security, and Defense Dialogue.

 Begin Text:

Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs Tom Kelly welcomed Vice Foreign Minister Ha Kim Ngoc to the Department of State in Washington, DC, on October 1, 2013 for the sixth annual U.S.-Vietnam Political, Security, and Defense Dialogue to discuss a broad range of bilateral and regional security issues of mutual concern. This meeting follows the announcement by President Obama and President Sang this past July for establishing a new Comprehensive Partnership between the two nations, and reflects increasing cooperation between the United States and Vietnam.

During this Dialogue, Acting Assistant Secretary Kelly and Vice Foreign Minister Ngoc noted with satisfaction the progress that has been made in recent years in many areas of the bilateral relationship, helping to elevate the framework of friendly and mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries. Regarding the multilateral arena, the two sides exchanged ideas on promotion of U.S.-ASEAN cooperation and issues concerning the ASEAN Regional Forum and the East Asia Summit. Both sides noted with satisfaction the progress in negotiating a Civil Nuclear Agreement, and pledged to make progress on further nonproliferation measures.

The participants in the meeting today discussed ways to further strengthen cooperation in multiple areas, including counterterrorism, counternarcotics, human trafficking, cyber, and law enforcement issues. The two delegations discussed further defense and security cooperation under the framework of the 2011 Memorandum of Understanding on Advancing Bilateral Defense Cooperation. Both parties agreed to continue to expand cooperation in maritime law enforcement, particularly on developing capabilities to address disaster response and search and rescue. The two sides pledged to continue cooperation in resolving war legacy issues such as POW/MIA accounting, dioxin and Agent Orange, and unexploded ordnance.

During this Dialogue, the United States and Vietnam reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening the bilateral relationship based on friendship, mutual respect, and shared commitments to ensure a peaceful, stable, prosperous, and secure Asia-Pacific region. The two sides affirmed that cooperation with respect to international and regional security challenges is a natural evolution of mutual and maturing political, economic, cultural, and people-to-people ties, and helps to cement the economic prosperity of both countries.

Taking place in a spirit of growing trust and deepening friendship, the Dialogue helped to chart the course for the new Comprehensive Partnership between our two countries. The seventh Dialogue will take place in Hanoi in 2014.

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