(VOVworld)  - Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and US Secretary of State John Kerry held a joint press conference on the outcomes of their talks on Friday.

 
The US official spoke highly of Vietnam’s determination and efforts during negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), while affirming that the US will urge involved parties to finalise the process. Concerning human rights, he said the two countries have held frequent and frank talks on human rights after the normalization of bilateral relations.

Vietnam has ratified the UN Convention against Torture and has approved a number of laws to implement the 2013 Constitution such as the Criminal Code and the law on judicial reform. With regard to the East Sea, Mr. Kerry expressed the US’s concern over militarization and island reclamation and agreed on the need to resolve disputes with peaceful means or through an international court. He hailed Vietnam’s participation in the UN peace-keeping force at a time when the UN is trying to seek resources for its peace keeping mission.

Deputy Prime Minister Minh said every of Vietnam’s policy is centered on human for development and that Vietnam respects and promotes human rights. Vietnam has been fine-tuning its legal system to promote human rights and it has held human rights dialogues with many other countries including the US. Vietnam is willing to discuss differences in human rights and share experiences with other countries to improve its policies concerning human rights. Mr. Minh said that Vietnam wants to boost education cooperation with the US to improve its human resources and Vietnam is interested in the implementation of the Fulbright University project. Mr. Minh said the Vietnam-US Comprehensive Partnership was established in 2013 and Vietnam hopes that bilateral relations will continue to grow on the basis of building political trust and increasing high-level delegation exchanges.