Secretary of Ho Chi Minh City’s Party Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan hosts a reception for Commander of US Indo-Pacific Command, Admiral Philip Davidson on April, 17, 2019 (Photo: sggp.org.vn)

Nhan hailed naval exchange activities between the US and Vietnam and thanked the US for helping Vietnam deal with dioxin and train UN peacekeepers. Ho Chi Minh City wants closer collaboration with the US to foster the Vietnam-US comprehensive partnership for the benefit of the two countries, the region, and the world, Nhan added. 

Davidson said the US wants to boost cooperation with Vietnam in the training of UN peacekeeping forces, friendship exchanges between the two navies, humanitarian relief, and natural disaster prevention. He thanked Vietnam for its contributions to the second summit between the US and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), and for backing US efforts to preserve freedom of navigation in the East Sea and Asia.