Party leader’s forthcoming US visit highlighted as historic event Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong is due to pay an official visit to the US on July 6-10 at the invitation of the US government. On the eve of the visit, a Washington-based Radio Voice of Vietnam (VOV) reporter recently sat down with some US leading experts to talk about the significance of the high-profile visit.   Ernest Bower-a senior adviser and Sumitro Chair for Southeast Asia Studies and co-director of the Pacific Partners Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). The US trip by Party Chief Nguyen Phu Trong is capturing special American public attention as this is the first time for a General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) to pay an official visit and hold talks with the US President at the White House. With 30 years of Vietnam-US relations research experience, Ernest Bower-a senior adviser and Sumitro Chair for Southeast Asia Studies and co-director of the Pacific Partners Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) described the visit as a historic event showing the deepened Vietnam-US relations. He said, “The General Secretary’s visit will enhance trust and mutual respect. I think we need to take our commitments to a new level to take our relationship to a new level. I expect it’ll be a very successful visit. The Americans are ready and the visit will be a very important step to take our relationship to the next level.” According to Bower, the agenda of the visit may cover issues related to the security agreement signed by the two defence ministries, the common vision for Vietnam-US comprehensive partnership but the affirmation and mutual respect will be the particularly important highlight. Gregory Poling, an expert of Southeast Asia Studies at the CSIS, said the US will welcome a foreign Party leader with the highest level of reception, showing Washington’s high regard for its relations with Vietnam and its Communist Party. He said, “The US has deemed the visit very important to the relationship with Vietnam. Generally the President meets with Prime Ministers or heads of states at the Oval. This is not the case because this is credibly vital.” Ernest Bower said the US respects Vietnam’s role in the Asia Pacific region and the two countries are cooperating effectively in various fields. “The Obama administration views Vietnam as one of the strategic partners we have in Asia. We have shown we can work together economically and in security. Now I think our military ties, people to people ties, all these areas we can do together. We do recognize the important role of the General Secretary in bilateral relations.” US experts confirmed that their country’s Asia policy is consistent and both the Democratic Party and Republican Party will continue to support Vietnam-US relations. Gregory Poling held that both parties deem the process of reconciliation with Vietnam very important and it has been successful.  A new era in bilateral relations is a boon for both sides. Vietnam is a strategic security partner of the US, not only for the East Sea issue but also for many other security matters in the Asia-Pacific region. Vietnam is also seen as important economic partner of the US, providently evidenced by their combined efforts for continued negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement. Although the US and Vietnam will still have dissent on some issues including human rights, both US political parties have agreed that this will not interfere with the overall bilateral relations between the two nations. VOV