Chairman of the Quang Tri Provincial People’s Committee Le Hong Vinh receives U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Jennifer Wicks

Chairman Le Hong Vinh, on behalf of the provincial leadership, expressed his pleasure at welcoming U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Jennifer Wicks and her delegation to Quang Tri. He affirmed that Vietnam always considers the United States one of its leading important partners and highly values the positive developments in Vietnam-U.S. relations in recent years.

Chairman Le Hong Vinh said that Vietnam-U.S. relations have continued to be strengthened through exchanges of delegations, high-level contacts and cooperation across various fields, contributing to greater mutual understanding, stronger trust and closer ties between the two countries. He expressed his belief that the visit and working trip by the U.S. Embassy delegation would open up further practical cooperation opportunities between Quang Tri and U.S. agencies, organizations, businesses and partners, thereby contributing positively to Vietnam-U.S. relations.

An overview of the meeting

Briefing the Ambassador on the province, Chairman Le Hong Vinh emphasized that following the merger, Quang Tri now has a larger development space, with significant potential and advantages in energy, agriculture, tourism and logistics. The province is focusing on implementing development orientations suited to the new conditions; preparing clean land for investment, developing infrastructure, training human resources, improving the investment environment, enhancing the efficiency of state management, and creating the most favorable conditions for residents and businesses.
Quang Tri also enjoys a favorable position for regional trade and connectivity, with a system of seaports and strategic transport routes. Together with its increasingly skilled workforce and substantial development potential following the merger, the province has favorable conditions for attracting both domestic and foreign investors.

Chairman of the Quang Tri Provincial People’s Committee Le Hong Vinh expresses his pleasure at welcoming U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Jennifer Wicks and her delegation on their visit and working trip to Quang Tri

Despite these potentials and advantages, Quang Tri continues to face significant challenges stemming from the consequences of war. As one of the areas heavily affected by unexploded bombs and mines left over from the war, the province continues to cope with contamination and the consequences of chemical warfare, which affect people's lives and livelihoods. Although the United States has provided substantial support to Quang Tri for mine clearance and war legacy remediation, many tasks still remain to be addressed.

Chairman Le Hong Vinh expressed his appreciation for the support provided by the U.S. Government, organizations and partners to Quang Tri over the years. He also expressed his hope that the United States would continue to support the province in surveys and mine clearance, mine-risk education, assistance for war victims, and capacity building for specialized provincial agencies.

Chairman of the Quang Tri Provincial People’s Committee Le Hong Vinh speaks at the reception

Chairman Le Hong Vinh also called on Ambassador Jennifer Wicks to facilitate connections between U.S. businesses and Quang Tri, encouraging them to conduct surveys, explore investment opportunities and invest in the province, thereby strengthening economic ties between the two countries. In addition, Quang Tri hopes to continue receiving cooperation, information sharing, expertise and relevant research findings from U.S. partners, particularly methods and technologies for the search for and identification of people missing in action during the war.

U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Jennifer Wicks thanks Quang Tri provincial leaders for the warm and gracious reception

For her part, U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Jennifer Wicks thanked the Quang Tri provincial leaders for their warm and respectful reception. She said this was her first working visit to a locality in Vietnam since taking up her post as U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam. The Ambassador expressed her impression of Quang Tri's potential, advantages and development orientations, and said she hoped the visit would contribute to expanding and deepening cooperation between Quang Tri and the United States.

Ambassador Jennifer Wicks affirmed that she would continue to contribute to programs addressing the consequences of war in Vietnam, support mine clearance efforts with the goal of ensuring that people, especially children, can live, study and play safely, while promoting cooperation in trade, security, defense, and technology and expertise sharing.

Chairman Le Hong Vinh presents a gift to U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Jennifer Wicks

The Ambassador spoke highly of Vietnam's efforts to reform and improve the effectiveness of state governance. She also expressed interest in Quang Tri's achievements following the merger, particularly efforts to streamline the administrative apparatus, simplify administrative procedures, and create more favorable conditions for residents and businesses.

Ambassador Jennifer Wicks also expressed her desire to further strengthen cooperation with Quang Tri during her tenure in Vietnam and promote projects addressing war legacies, while supporting Vietnam in implementing the “500-Day-and-Night Campaign to Accelerate the Search for, Collection and Identification of Martyrs’ Remains.”

U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Jennifer Wicks presents a gift to Chairman of the Quang Tri Provincial People’s Committee Le Hong Vinh

Chairman Le Hong Vinh affirmed that Quang Tri always appreciates the United States' efforts and support in addressing the consequences of war. He expressed his belief that Ambassador Jennifer Wicks’ visit would provide fresh momentum for promoting increasingly practical and effective cooperation between Quang Tri and the United States, contributing to the comprehensive strategic partnership between Vietnam and the United States.

Delegates pose for a commemorative photo at the meeting

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