The below is attributable to Spokesperson Ned Price:
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman met yesterday in Hanoi with Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son, Vice Foreign Minister Ha Kim Ngoc, Chairman of the Communist Party of Vietnam’s Commission on External Relations Le Hoai Trung, and Deputy Minister of Defense Sr. Lt. Gen. Hoang Xuan Chien in separate meetings. In these meetings, Deputy Secretary Sherman emphasized the strength of the U.S.-Vietnam Comprehensive Partnership and the United States’ support for a strong, prosperous, and independent Vietnam. She praised Prime Minister Chinh’s successful visit to the United States to attend the U.S.-ASEAN Special Summit and welcomed Vietnam’s participation at the launch of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework. She also reiterated the United States’ enduring commitment to war legacy and humanitarian issues, including accounting for American and Vietnamese war dead, assistance to persons with disabilities, clearing unexploded ordnance, and joint dioxin remediation. Deputy Secretary Sherman also discussed the human rights situation in Vietnam and emphasized the importance of continued bilateral dialogue.