In August 2021, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris made a historic visit to Vietnam — the first by a sitting U.S. vice president — signaling Washington’s growing strategic focus on Southeast Asia. Former Vietnamese Ambassador to the U.S. Phạm Quang Vinh said the trip underscored Vietnam’s rising role in the Indo-Pacific and reflected a deepening partnership built on trade, supply chain resilience, technology cooperation, and health security.
Phạm Quang Vinh noted that Vietnam’s stability, economic strength, and regional credibility made it a “critical partner” for the United States. He also emphasized that both sides should seize this momentum to modernize trade frameworks, expand digital cooperation, and move toward formally establishing a strategic partnership — a status he believes already exists in substance.
This article is a condensed and translated summary (original in Vietnamese, VN) of an interview published on August 23, 2021, by CafeF.
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