United States lifts its remaining lethal-arms sales ban on Vietnam

Trọng began a visit to Washington that included a meeting with President Obama. It was the first visit to the United States by a sitting Communist Party general secretary and a symbolic development in...

The meeting brought together the U.S. president and Vietnam’s party leader, a high-profile recognition of the relationship’s transformation. Discussions covered trade, security, human rights, and...

The statement affirmed cooperation on trade, security, education, and war-legacy issues, including POW/MIA accounting and unexploded ordnance. It also named respect for sovereignty and political...

Trade ministers announced the conclusion of TPP negotiations. Vietnam entered a major regional trade pact whose rules covered tariffs, labor, investment, and regulation. Supporters stressed market...

ASEAN formally launched its Economic Community, advancing a regional project that Vietnam had joined as a member and helped chair. The initiative promoted an integrated regional market, but its impact...

During Obama’s visit, the U.S. announced it would lift its remaining ban on lethal-arms sales. The policy shift did not erase the unequal history of U.S. intervention or continuing war harms.

The governments announced a Peace Corps program in Vietnam, extending educational exchange within a relationship shaped by war and negotiated foreign presence.

The speech acknowledged difficult history and discussed sovereignty, trade, regional order, and rights. It is a U.S. president’s account of reconciliation, not a comprehensive record of Vietnamese...

Foreign ministers signed the framework agreement during Obama’s visit. It created a basis for future English-language programming, without implying consensus among all Vietnamese about U.S. cultural...

A presidential memorandum directed U.S. withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Vietnam had negotiated the pact to expand markets; the U.S. decision changed its prospects and showed the...