PM holds telephone talks with US White House Chief of Staff

HANOI, 17 March (VNA) - Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on March 14 held telephone talks with US President Barack Obama’s Chief of Staff Denis MacDonough on concrete measures to accelerate bilateral ties and Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations. Both sides emphasised the importance of bolstering the Vietnam-US comprehensive partnership and continued efforts to strengthen the bilateral relations, particularly in the fields of economy, trade and investment as well as exchange of high-level contacts. The two sides affirmed their determination to closely coordinate for early conclusion of the TPP negotiations in accordance with the Honolulu Joint Statement on a comprehensive and balanced agreement, which takes into account the diversity of levels of development of members like Vietnam. The telephone talks were conducted following a request from the US side.-VNA