One day in early July 1995, US Ambassador to the UN Madeleine Albright called Vietnamese Ambassador to the UN Ngo Quang Xuan to deliver a message: President Bill Clinton had fixed the time for normalization between Vietnam and the US.

 

Mr. Xuan, who is now the National Assembly Committee for Foreign Affairs Vice-Chair, still remembers very clearly the critical preparation period for normalizing Vietnam-US relations. At that time, he recalls, the world kept a close eye on the unfolding events.

 

 

Former US President Bill Clinton at Hanoi’s Hoan Kiem Lake in 2000.

 

Xuan had assumed ambassadorship to the UN in New York in 1993 during the dramatic negotiation phase between the US and Vietnam. As Vietnam’s only official diplomat in the US, he was at the center of efforts to open a new era in Vietnam-US relations.

 

“At that time, the Doi Moi policy had brought about new vitality in Vietnam. The political and security situation was stable, while our economy had overcome its most difficult period and we began exporting rice . . . Despite difficulties, both countries used shuttle diplomacy to gradually normalize diplomatic relations. In talks among UN diplomats, the question ‘how are Vietnam-US relations?’ was asked very often,” revealed Xuan.

 

VietNamNet: President Bill Clinton in 1994 announced the end of the embargo on Vietnam. How did American diplomats and the international community of diplomats in the US react?

 

Xuan: Friends and American diplomats at the UN closely kept track of Vietnamese diplomacy in the planet’s largest multilateral forum. Many friends worried for us because Vietnam’s traditional support had just broken up (former USSR and socialist countries in East Europe) and how a one issue mission (Vietnam confronted an alliance that protested Vietnam’s presence in Cambodia) would work.

 

The public paid special attention to Bill Clinton administration’s moves toward Vietnam, from the removal of embargo to preparations for opening liaison offices in the two capitals.

The US Ambassador and diplomats became friendlier to us. Friends from other countries expressed their support.

 

In a early September 1994 meeting with Kofi Annan, who was UN Vice-Secretary General in charge of peacekeeping at that time, he warmly congratulated Vietnam. He believed that Vietnam and the US would normalize relations early. He told me that he hoped, one day, the world would witness the peacekeeping forces of Vietnam and the US sitting together.

VietNamNet: The date for normalization was officially announced one year later. How was the atmosphere in New York?

 

Xuan: One day in early July 1995, Ambassador Madeleine Albright called me to announce that President Bill Clinton decided the time for normalization.

 

I understood that this was an official message for transmission to Hanoi (at that time Vietnam only had a liaison office in Washington, DC). All of us who were there would never forget that important moment!

On July 12, 1995, Vietnam and the US signed the agreement to establish diplomatic ties and normalize relations. At the UN, we received congratulations from everyone we met.

 

VietNamNet: After normalization, how did the two sides begin to build mutual trust?

 

Xuan: Vietnam-US relations were normalized when the two sides were in deep doubt. In the US Congress, there were three groups – those who supported, opposed and hesitated about US-Vietnam normalization of relations. Gradually, more people supported normalization and the development of US-Vietnam relations.

 

In that context, two “pillars” for normalization– US Senator John McCain and US Senator John Kerry – became the mainstays of the supporting forces. They were also the firm bridge for the process of normalization between Vietnam and the US.

 

The war divided the US and Vietnamese people. The war also divided the community of Vietnamese in the US. In 1995, though the Vietnam War had been over for 20 years, many Vietnamese-Americans still protested normalization.

When I was invited to visit or talk in US states, cities or schools, I sometimes faced protests.

On August 5, 1995, our embassy opened in Washington DC. I was invited to the inauguration ceremony as the Vietnamese Ambassador to the UN. A group of Vietnamese registered to demonstrate at the time of the ceremony, but at the last minute, we decided to organize the ceremony early so the event took place smoothly.

VietNamNet: One of noticeable landmarks in 15 years of Vietnam-US relations was the Vietnam-US negotiations on permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) for Vietnam and finalization of bilateral negotiation on Vietnam’s WTO membership. At that time, you were the Vietnamese Ambassador to the WTO. How was the situation at that time? Observers said that if Vietnam could not complete bilateral negotiations with the US, its door to the WTO would be very narrow.

 

Xuan: We attached importance to bilateral negotiations with all 28 member countries and economies of the WTO, but completing negotiations with the US was the most important.

By December 2005, when Vietnam prepared for the 5th annual WTO conference in Hong Kong, Vietnam finalized negotiation with almost all countries, except for the US and some “close friends” of the US.

 

At that time I told the media that the US intentionally raised difficulties for Vietnam. After that, the US decided to grant the PNTR to Vietnam and finish bilateral negotiation on Vietnam’s WTO membership.

We focused our efforts in 2006 to finish the remaining part of the 11-year negotiation process, both bilaterally and multilaterally. By the afternoon of October 13, 2006, we completed negotiations for admission to the world largest trade organization – the WTO.

 

VietNamNet: In you opinion, how well have Vietnam and the US understood each other in the past 15 years?

Xuan: Perhaps we need a lot of time to completely answer this question. Fifteen years is only a short period of time for relations between two countries, but Vietnam and the US have tried to do many things to transform relations from enemies in the past to partners at present.

I can’t say that the Vietnam-US relations are comprehensive and perfect, because there is still the Agent Orange/dioxin matter on the table. If we look at the positive results of bilateral cooperation to solve sensitive issues like MIAs, I have good grounds to believe that, in the future, the US will show its seriousness and goodwill – like Vietnam’s attitude for MIA – to find effective solutions to assist Vietnam in solving this great humanitarian issue.

 

From very low relations, Vietnam-US two-way trade revenue in 2005 reached more than $1 billion and rose up to $15.5 billion in 2009. The US has become the largest market for Vietnamese goods and was also the largest direct investor in Vietnam in 2009, ranking the sixth largest investor in Vietnam so far. The two sides have set up cooperation mechanisms in education, science-technology and have initially implemented cooperation in defence, security and other areas.

 

Many US delegations will come to Vietnam to celebrate the 15th anniversary of Vietnam-US diplomatic relations. The National Assembly Committee for Foreign Relations and I are preparing to welcome two US senators – Tom Harkin and Jim Webb – who will pay a visit to Vietnam in early July.

The results that the two countries have achieved in the last 15 years will be the basis for further cooperation between the two sides.

 

Vietnamnet/ Xuan Linh