HCMC – Party General Secretary To Lam met with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on February 19 on the sidelines of his trip to attend the opening meeting of the Gaza Peace Council in Washington, D.C., at the invitation of U.S. President Donald Trump.
At the meeting, General Secretary To Lam congratulated the United States on successfully hosting the opening session of the Gaza Peace Council, emphasizing that peace, security and development are matters of utmost importance to all nations and the world at large.
He also congratulated the U.S. on its development achievements during President Trump’s second term in office. The Party chief expressed his hope that President Trump and U.S. businesses would attend the APEC Economic Leaders’ Week to be held in Vietnam in 2027.
General Secretary To Lam highly valued the progress in bilateral cooperation across politics, economic and trade ties, security and defense, and people-to-people exchanges. He said both sides should continue working together to further advance the relationship in a way that brings tangible benefits to their peoples and contributes to peace, stability, development and prosperity in the region and the world.
He expressed appreciation of the positive outcomes achieved in negotiations on a reciprocal trade agreement between Vietnam and the U.S. and spoke highly of the role of the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) as well as Ambassador Greer’s personal attention and support. He affirmed that relevant Vietnamese agencies would continue to closely coordinate with their U.S. counterparts to finalize the agreement at an early date.
For his part, Greer thanked General Secretary To Lam for taking the time to meet him and congratulated the Party chief on his re-election at the recent 14th National Party Congress. He conveyed President Trump’s congratulations and appreciation to General Secretary To Lam for attending the opening session of the Gaza Peace Council, saying the move underscored the importance of the bilateral relationship.
Greer noted the positive developments in bilateral ties, particularly in economic and trade cooperation in recent years. He emphasized that Vietnam is one of the United States’ important trading partners, and that strengthening bilateral economic and trade cooperation would contribute positively to the overall development of relations between the two countries.
He said negotiations on a reciprocal, fair and balanced Vietnam–U.S. trade agreement have made significant progress and are entering a decisive phase. He stressed the agreement’s importance to bilateral economic and trade cooperation and commended the proactive and constructive engagement of the Vietnamese negotiating delegation.
Greer affirmed that the Office of the USTR and he personally would continue to closely coordinate with relevant Vietnamese ministries and agencies, making every effort to conclude the negotiations promptly in line with the directions of General Secretary To Lam and President Donald Trump.
