(VOVworld) – US Senator John McCain and Congressman Eliot Engel hailed Vietnam’s role in regional stability and prosperity during their meetings with Vietnamese Ambassador to the US Pham Quang Vinh on Thursday.

Vietnamese Ambassador Pham Quang Vinh meets with US Senator John McCain. (Photo: VOV)

Vinh urged McCain, Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, to advocate the implementation of the bilateral comprehensive partnership which serves the benefits of each nation and the entire Asia-Pacific region. He noted economics, trade, investment, science, technology, education, security, and defense are main focuses for stronger cooperation. The Ambassador called for an early finalization of negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) and greater mutual support at regional forums such as the East Asia Summit (EAS), the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC). McCain pledged his continued effort to accelerate bilateral ties, settle post-war aftermaths, and lift a US ban on the sale of lethal weapons to Vietnam. He expressed his hope to visit Vietnam in 2015 which observes the 20^th anniversary of diplomatic relations.

Vietnamese Ambassador Pham Quang Vinh meets with Congressman Eliot Engel (Photo: VOV)

The same day, Vinh briefed Congressman Eliot Engel, a senior member of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee, on Vietnam’s development and major foreign policies. He asked for Engel’s lobbying to strengthen the Vietnam-US comprehensive partnership. Engel considered bilateral relations, particularly parliamentary relations, important to the development of each side and regional peace and stability.