State President Truong Tan Sang will pay an official visit to the US from July 24-26 at the invitation of President Barack Obama. The visit reflects Vietnam’s consistent foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, peace, cooperation and development, as well as multilateralisation and diversification of international relations and international integration, said Luong Thanh Nghi, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on July 18. Sang and Obama are scheduled to hold talks in Washington DC to put forth big orientations in the two countries’ relations, especially in economics, investment, trade, science, education-training, and humanitarianism. They will also exchange views on regional and international issues of mutual concern. Vietnam-US ties have developed positively in various areas since the two countries normalized relations in 1995. Both sides agreed to build a partnership based on a positive, growing friendship and mutual respect, and a shared commitment to pursuing constructive and multifaceted cooperation. The US has become Vietnam’s largest goods consumer since 2005. Two-way trade has increased considerably over the years, and it reached more than US$11 billion in the first five months of 2013 alone. VOV