US senator McCain welcomes Party leader US senator John McCain welcomed Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong at the US parliament building in Washington on July 8.  The visit demonstrated the growing stature of the Vietnam-US partnership as the two countries celebrated the 20th anniversary of the normalisation of bilateral ties, the senator said. “Vietnam is an important emerging partner with whom the United States shares strategic and economic interests, including the acceleration of an open regional trade order, the maintenance of the balance of power in the Asia-Pacific region, and the global long-term order principles such as freedom of navigation and peaceful settlements of international disputes,” McCain said. The senator said the progress the two countries had achieved over the past 20 years was remarkable, and that the US and Vietnam were in a position to continue those achievements. The US senator also praised Vietnam for recent encouraging steps to improve its human rights record.  Stating that the US and Vietnam shared a profound commitment towards peace and security in the Asia-Pacific region, McCain said the US should continue loosening the ban on the sale of lethal weapons to Vietnam. “The past 20 years have witnessed remarkable developments in the relationship between the two countries, which is more than what anyone could have expected”, added McCain. During his meeting with McCain, the Party leader hailed the US senator’s support and significant contributions to lifting the US embargo and normalising relations with Vietnam. The Party General Secretary said that bilateral relations were on the right track and developing in all fields and contributing to peace, co-operation and development in the region and the world, especially given complicated regional circumstances. VNA