(VOVworld) - Vietnam Public Security Minister, General Tran Dai Quang, held talks on Wednesday with US officials including White House Deputy National Security Advisor Avril Haines, Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the Under Secretary of Defense Michael Vickers in Washington DC. The US leaders described Quang’s visit as a good start to this year’s activities to mark the 20^th anniversary of diplomatic ties. They agreed to foster cooperation in security and civil justice and deepen the Vietnamese-US strategic partnership. They agreed to maintain current cooperative mechanisms and consider negotiating other agreements to build a legal framework for broader bilateral cooperation, including treaties on extradition, the transfer of sentenced or imprisoned persons, mutual legal assistance in criminal matters and money laundering prevention and control. Minister Quang praised the US administration and congress for their contributions to propel bilateral relations forward, especially supporting Vietnam in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement negotiations, recognizing Vietnam’s market economy status, and removing trade barriers and the former weapons ban. Quang said he hoped that their US partners would continue supporting cooperative activities in the areas of law enforcement, resolving the consequences of Agent Orange, clearing landmines and matters related to MIAs.