Roundup: U.S., Vietnam seek to deepen relations

U.S. President Barack Obama and head of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Nguyen Phu Trong met on Tuesday at the White House, seeking to deepen bilateral ties.

The meeting came 40 years after the end of the Vietnam War and 20 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two former enemies. Trong's visit is the first of its kind paid by a CPV's general secretary to the United States.

The two sides recognize the "positive and substantive" developments in many areas of cooperation over the past 20 years, according to a joint statement.

"What we've seen is the emergence of a constructive relationship that is based on mutual respect, and that has benefitted the peoples of both countries," Obama told reporters at the Oval Office after meeting with Trong.

Over the past two years alone, the two countries have made significant progress on deepening cooperation in various fields, Obama said, adding that "this was an excellent opportunity for us to deepen our discussions around our vision for a comprehensive partnership."

Obama also said he and Trong "candidly" discussed issues such as human rights and freedom of religion, acknowledging that the two countries still have "significant differences in political philosophy and political systems."

The differences could be resolved "in an effective fashion" through bilateral dialogues as well as cooperation in multilateral organizations, he added.

On the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) issue, the two men emphasized the "enormous potential" of the proposed trade agreement that could potentially create significant job growth and prosperity for both the Vietnamese and the American people, the U.S. president said.

But a report by the Congressional Research Service warned that Vietnam's participation in the talks could constrain U.S. efforts to expand the scope and depth of the TPP, given that "Vietnam remains a mixed economy with considerable government intervention."

Since the resumption of their trade relations in the 1990s, bilateral trade have grown from about 220 million U.S. dollars in 1994 to 29.6 billion dollars in 2013, according to the report.

Trong, for his part, noted the importance of the two nations having transformed from former enemies into comprehensive partners.

The two countries have risen above the past to overcome differences, Trong said, adding that he was "convinced that our relationship will continue to grow in the future."

Trong said that he was glad that Obama has accepted his invitation to visit Vietnam.

"I certainly do look forward to visiting your beautiful country sometime in the future," Obama told Trong, without announcing the date of the visit.

As part of his U.S. visit, Trong met with U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman on Monday for discussions about how to boost bilateral trade relations.

In the meeting, Trong asked the U.S. side to consider necessary flexibility in line with Vietnam's economic development level in the TPP negotiations, noting that Vietnam is a country with the lowest level of development among the prospective TPP members, according to Vietnamese media reports. Endi