General Secretary and President To Lam's policy speech at Columbia University

Ms. Angela Olinto, Provost of Columbia University

Ms.Anne Neuberger, Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for Cyber and Emerging Technology on the National Security Council

Professors, lecturers, distinguished guests and students

First of all, I would like to express thanks to the leaders of Columbia University for inviting me to address this World Leaders Forum on the occasion of my tour to the U.S. to attend the United Nations Summit of the Future, the 79^th session of the United Nations General Assembly, and my working visit to the U.S.

I am sure that you are really proud of Columbia University – a school with a history of 270 years, and one of the leading educational cradles in the U.S., where many alumni have contributed to transforming the future.

Among them, there are four U.S. Presidents, two United Nations Secretary-Generals, 103 Nobel winners and many outstanding scientists. I know that many Columbia University alumni are now holding senior managerial and leadership positions in Viet Nam.

I appreciate Columbia University's contributions to advancing the development in Viet Nam and the Viet Nam-U.S. relations as well.

This is the right time to share with you about Viet Nam's path forward, Viet Nam-U.S. relations and vision for a new era.

For Viet Nam, this is a very important turning point to achieve the goal of becoming a developed country by mid-century. In terms of Viet Nam-U.S. relations, we are to celebrate the 30^th anniversary of normalization of diplomatic relations and the 50^th anniversary of the end of war in Viet Nam next year.

Meanwhile, the world is entering a new era, shaped by profound changes, both cyclical and structural, and unprecedented breakthroughs under the impact of the scientific and technological revolution, especially artificial intelligence and digital technologies.

Ladies, gentlemen and friends,

I. Regarding Viet Nam's path: To continue reform and integration in the era of national progress

After nearly 80 years of national foundation and nearly 40 years of reform under the leadership of the Communist Party of Viet Nam, Viet Nam is standing at a new historical starting point – a new era of the rise of the nation. The great and historic achievements gained during the reform process are the premises for Vietnamese people to believe in the journey ahead.

The great achievements that we have gained came as a result of right path that Viet Nam has taken under the leadership of the Communist Party of Viet Nam, as well as the efforts and determination of the whole Vietnamese nation. Viet Nam overcame a great deal of difficulties and challenges, from a slave and war-torn country, Viet Nam regained independence and has become a dynamic economy.

The size of its economy and trade are in the top 40 and 20 in the world, respectively.

The economy grew by 96 times between 1986 and 2023 and becomes a success story recognized by the United Nations in implementing the millennium development goals.

From an isolated country, Viet Nam has established diplomatic relations with 194 countries, strategic and comprehensive partnerships with 30 countries, including all major powers and five standing members of the United Nations Security Council, being an active member of the of more than 70 regional and international organizations, and has economic relations with 224 markets across all continents.

With the spirit of independence, self-reliance, self-confidence, and national pride, the whole 100 million Vietnamese people plus more than six million overseas Vietnamese are determined to build a more prosperous and beautiful Viet Nam, standing shoulder to shoulder with major powers in five continents, as President Ho Chi Minh ever wished

In the new era, Viet Nam's top priority is to successfully realize the two 100-year goals set by the 13^th National Party Congress to build Viet Nam of rich people, strong, democratic, equitable and civilized nation.

Viet Nam's development path cannot separate from the common trend of the world and human civilization.

We are unable to realize the above noble goals without international pure solidarity, valuable support and effective cooperation of the international community. Our success is your success.

We will continue to accelerate the process of reform, opening up, and comprehensive and extensive international integration. Viet Nam will remain a stable, trusted and attractive destination for foreign investors, businesses and tourists.

The way for Viet Nam to overcome the middle-income trap would be innovation, great national solidarity, and combination of national strength with that of the times.

Despite a fast-changing world, Viet Nam, under the leadership of the Communist Party of Viet Nam, remains steadfast with its foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, diversification and multi-lateralization of external relations, being a friend and a reliable partner and an active and responsible member of the international community.

We believe that there will be no development without peace. Therefore, Viet Nam remains steadfast with "four nos" defense policy, strongly supports the settlement of disputes and divergences through peaceful means on the basis of the United Nations Charter and international law, protests unilateral actions, power politics, use or threat to use force in international relations.

Over the past time, Viet Nam has proved its responsibility for the common work of the international community through active and proactive contributions. Viet Nam has been recognized by the United Nations as one of the pioneering countries in achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs).

Despite numerous difficulties and challenges, Viet Nam commits to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.

During the past ten years, Viet Nam's participation in the United Nations-led peacekeeping missions has left good impressions on a number of African nations, not just contributing to maintaining international peace and security but also assisting local residents in their daily lives.

On the occasion, I would like to thank and appreciate partners in the U.S. for their effective assistance for and cooperation with Viet Nam to implement its international commitments.

With its new position and strength, Viet Nam is determined to effectively new-era diplomacy, ready to make more proactive and active contributions to the world politics, global economy and human civilization.

Particularly, we will join hands with friends and partners to address urgent global challenges such as climate change, food security, health security, and water security among others and push for a fair and equitable international order on the basis of the fundamental principles of the United Nations Charter and international law.

II. Viet Nam- U.S. relations: From former foes to comprehensive strategic partnership

Professors and students,

In a world characterized by uncertainties and limited wars, we see more clearly the importance of good-will cooperation – the foundation to turn Viet Nam and the U.S. from former foes to comprehensive strategic partners today.

Nearly 80 years ago, in the Proclamation of Independence on September 2, 1945, giving birth to the Democratic Republic of Viet Nam, now the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, President Ho Chi Minh quoted immortal words from the 1776 U.S. Declaration of Independence about equality and the rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Right from early days of independence, within two years, from 1945 to 1946, President Ho Chi Minh wrote eight letters and telegrams to President Harry Truman, in which he affirmed Viet Nam's desire for "full cooperation" with the U.S.

However, due to historical circumstances, it took 50 years for Viet Nam and the U.S. to normalize their relations. Few could imagine the miraculous progress of the Viet Nam-U.S. relations over the past 30 years.

From former foes, both countries have become comprehensive partners and now comprehensive strategic partners.

Since normalization of the bilateral ties, many Vietnamese leaders have visited the U.S., notably the historic visit by late Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong in July 2015, and all the U.S. Presidents have visited the Southeast Asian nations, most recently the visit by President Joe Biden in September 2023.

Cooperation across fields, from politics-diplomacy to economy, trade, defense and security, war legacy remediation, in addressing regional and global issues such as climate change, terrorism, and in peacekeeping operations has achieved significant and substantial progress.

Notably, people-to-people exchanges and education and training cooperation have become increasingly vibrant. Around 30,000 Vietnamese students are studying in the U.S., including Columbia University.

The most important factor enabling the bilateral relations to reach the current fruitful stage is the tradition of compassion and forgiveness of the Vietnamese people and the sound leadership of the Communist Party of Viet Nam.

The support of many U.S. friends and partners, such as President Bill Clinton and his successors, senators John McCain, John Kerry, Patrick Leahy and has also been crucial. I especially appreciate the strong support of the U.S. two-party system for the Viet Nam-U.S. relations. This is one of the important foundations to for the comprehensive strategic partnership between our two countries to grow more stably, sustainably, and practically in the time ahead.

III. Vision for new ear: For sustainable civilization and progress of humanity

Professors and students,

The elevation of the Viet Nam-U.S. relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership for peace, cooperation and sustainable development means that such a new framework would not only serve the practical benefits of the people of the two countries but also contribute positively to peace, cooperation and development in Asia-Pacific and the world as well.

Reflecting on the journey of the Vietnamese people and the success story of the Viet Nam-U.S. relations, I would like to share my thoughts about the vision to build a better common future for humanity:

Firstly, it is necessary to affirm and uphold the spirit of reconciliation, mutual respect and understanding: The relationship that we have today came as a result of the two sides' tireless efforts in ceaselessly accelerating the process of reconciliation, mutual understanding and respects for each other's legitimate interests, in which respect for independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and each other's political regimes is the most important. Viet Nam has been proactive in taking steps to heal war wounds.

Even before the two countries normalized relations, Viet Nam had unilaterally searched for U.S. soldiers missing in action for 15 years before the U.S. began coordinating with Viet Nam.

Cooperation in overcoming the war consequences has become the foundation for the two sides to heal and move towards normalization, build trust and deepen their ties. These will continue to be important cooperation areas between the two countries for many years to come as the consequences of the war remain heavy, especially for Viet Nam.

From the above lesson, to further promote the bilateral relationship, I believe that the sides need to step up research on each other's history, culture, people, political system, society and economy. Therefore, I highly value the Viet Nam study program of Columbia University and the signing of a cooperation agreement between Columbia University and Viet Nam's Vin University.

In a broader sense, I believe that if countries understand and respect each other's legitimate interests and build trust together, the world will have more peace and less conflict.

In the age of science and technology, we can take advantage of new methods such as digital platforms and tools to promote greater connectivity and deeper understanding among peoples.

Secondly, it is necessary to treasure and promote the culture of dialogue: To be frank, though we have achieved great strides in our bilateral ties, there remain certain differences in terms of human rights in economic, politic, social, and religious areas. It is important to note that we choose dialogue instead of confrontation. More importantly, we carry out dialogue on the basis of open, frank and constructive spirit.

I strongly believe that countries having conflicts and disputes promote the search for peaceful solutions through dialogues on the basis of international law, all issues, no matter how complex they are, will also be solved. Dialogue should become a common practice, an effective tool of top importance for our civilization.

Thirdly, it is necessary to promote the highest sense of responsibility for the international community: Cooperation between Viet Nam and the U.S. has gone beyond bilateral framework to gradually reach regional and global levels, especially in such areas like climate change, non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, anti-terrorism, peacekeeping operations, thereby making increasingly positive contributions to peace, stability, cooperation and development in Asia-Pacific and the world as well.

Given the current context of global uncertainties, I believe that first of all, countries should be responsible for their relations and for peace, cooperation and development in the world.

Geostrategic competition is a reality but conflict is not inevitable. Like other ASEAN Member States and other countries in Asia-Pacific, Viet Nam expects countries to uphold responsibility together for the future and human civilization, and make more contributions to maintaining peace, stability, prosperity, cooperation, the rule of law and multilateralism

Fourthly, people should always be put at the center: The achievements of the Viet Nam-U.S. relations today result from the fact that both sides have acted according to the interests of their people, meeting the aspirations of their people.

Throughout the cause of national construction and development, Viet Nam continues to uphold the ideal President Ho Chi Minh and founding fathers of the U.S. shared, which is to build a State of the people, by the people and for the people.

The great and historic achievements Viet Nam has gained after nearly 100 years under the leadership of the Communist Party of Viet Nam, including nearly 40 years of reform show that the Party always considers serving the people as its guiding principle and goal, and is always infinitely loyal to the interests of the Fatherland and the people.

The great and historic achievements that Vietnam has achieved after nearly 100 years of leadership by the Communist Party of Vietnam, including nearly 40 years of Renovation, are also because the Party always takes serving the people as its guiding principle and goal, and is always infinitely loyal to the interests of the Fatherland and the People.

People make history. This is a civilized ideology, a common universal value of the international community. We can see ASEAN and the United Nations have that principle of putting people at the center.

Fifthly, solidarity toward the future: As the world is undergoing epochal change, humanity needs far-sighted vision and solidarity more than ever. No single country, no matter how strong it is, can tackle the common issues of our time alone. That is the approach and orientation that the Summit of the Future has clearly outlined.

Viet Nam's motto is to shelf the past and look toward the future. We do not forget the past, but we do not let the past become a burden hindering the development of the present and the future.

This is both a crystallization of the humanistic tradition of the Vietnamese people and a reflection of the way of behaving that has become the identity of our foreign policy. I believe that with an approach that upholds international solidarity and looks to the future, as well as the success story of the Viet Nam-U.S. relationship, the world will turn the impossible into possible, continuing to build a sustainable and progressive civilization for the entire humanity.

Professors and students,

After nearly 30 years of normalization of ties, there have been great strides in the Viet Nam-U.S. relations, beyond the imagination of even the most optimistic people.

In the next 30 years, with the motto "shelf the past, overcome differences, optimize similarities, and look toward the future" emphasized by late Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, I firmly believe that the Viet Nam-U.S. comprehensive strategic partnership for peace, cooperation and sustainable development will continue to reach new heights.

The Viet Nam-U.S. Joint Statement adopted in 2023 clearly defines 10 comprehensive and important cooperation pillars, including core areas such as economy-trade-investment, innovation-driven inclusive economic growth, and new breakthrough front like science, technology and digital innovation.

In the time to come, the regional and international situation will undergo complex and unpredictable evolution, with intertwined opportunities and challenges. The good news is that peace, development and cooperation remains the major trend, the common aspiration of all peoples. The content of the Viet Nam-U.S. comprehensive strategic partnership for peace, cooperation and sustainable development is consistent with that trend.

Professors and students,

Looking back at the journey that the Vietnamese people have gone through, more than ever, we are steadfast and confident to move forward. In the new era, the era of the Vietnamese people's rise under the leadership of the Communist Party of Viet Nam, we will try our best to realize that aspiration of the nation.

On our journey towards the future, Viet Nam will continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with international friends and partners, together we share visions, coordinate in actions for the best goals for all humanity.

Looking at the faces of young people here, I am really optimistic and hopeful. As may you know, President Franklin Roosevelt, an alumni of Columbia University once said: "We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future." President Ho Chi Minh, the beloved leader of the Vietnamese people, always stressed the vision "for the benefit of 10 year, plant a tree, for benefit of 100 years, raise some good people."

I do hope that friends and partners in the U.S. would continue strong support for promoting the Viet Nam-U.S. comprehensive strategic partnership, and continue writing success story and inspiring the future generations. Our success will not only serve the interests of the people of the two countries but also make increasingly practical and effective contributions to peace, national independence, democracy, social progress and prosperous development of the nations in the region and the world.

Thank you very much./.

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