Ambassador Cuong presented State President Nguyen Minh Triet’s credentials to the US President Barack Obama in Washington D.C on July 7. After the presentation ceremony, ambassador Cuong granted an exclusive interview to a VOV reporter in the US.

Reporter: What do you think about Vietnam-US relations at present and in the future?

Ambassador Cuong: More than 16 years after normalization, Vietnam-US relations have seen remarkable progress. At the presentation ceremony, US President Barack Obama said that the relations between the two countries have developed in all fields. He expressed his belief that the Vietnam-US relationship will be further developed in the future.

Reporter: What are the key tasks which you want to implement to promote Vietnam-US relations in the next term?

Ambassador Cuong: Being a newly-appointed ambassador to the US, I hope to contribute to promoting Vietnam-US relations to a new height to set up strategic partnership in the future as US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton said during her visit to Vietnam last year.

I will also work with the Vietnamese community in the US to help it further contribute to the homeland.

Reporter: Over the past six months, Vietnam and the US have implemented the fourth political, security and defense dialogue. Both sides agreed to improve Vietnam-US relations to strategic partnership. Could you let us know about the role of the Vietnamese embassy in the US in fulfilling this goal?

Ambassador Cuong: I have mentioned the issue while meeting with US President Barack Obama. Mr Obama said that he supported the efforts made by the Vietnamese embassy and pledged to work with US agencies to turn the relations between the two countries into a new partnership. I think that Vietnamese representative agencies in the US will work directly with the US Department of State, the US National Security, and US Department of Defense and relevant US agencies to create mechanisms to develop the relationship between the two countries in the future.

Of course, the Vietnamese embassy is only part of this process, while other Vietnamese agencies will cooperate with the US in building a new framework to boost bilateral ties.

As a chief representative, I will lead the Vietnamese Embassy staff to achieve this goal. I will function as a bridge linking Vietnam to the US agencies for mutual benefit.

Reporter: What will you do to attract attention and investment of overseas Vietnamese and strengthen solidarity among them?

Ambassador Cuong: I pay due the attention to community work, through which I know that all Vietnamese nationals in foreign countries are looking toward to their homeland. During my term in the US, I attach great importance to encouraging the Vietnamese community to contribute to their home country.

I think we should listen to overseas Vietnamese voices. In the future, I will have many working sessions in different states of the US. I will meet with Vietnamese expatriates in these localities to help them learn about Vietnamese Party and State’s policies, as well as gathering their opinions and expectations. I hope that the Vietnamese embassy in the US will help to create a link between Vietnamese and US businesses. Currently, we already have the Vietnamese Business Association in the US. The Association also wants to set up a trade centre in Baltimore.

Reporter: Thank you.