Letter to the readers

Dear friends,

Vietnam-US relations has experienced many ups and downs in a not far away history, but in the last 15 years, these relations have witnessed a great many progresses and achievements for the benefits of the American and Vietnamese people alike.

For the diplomatic relation, in February 1995, 20 years after the war, Vietnam and the US exchanged their Liaison Office in Washington and Hanoi. In August 1995, these Liaison Offices were upgraded to a full scale of Embassies. To further promote and strengthen our multifaceted  relations, a Consulate General of Vietnam was established in San Francisco and that of the US in Ho Chi Minh City in 1997. Trades and investments between the two countries took off and came to a boom when the two signed the Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) in the year of 2000. But the relations between Vietnam and the US only became fully normalized when the US Congress voted to extend the Permanent Normal Trading Relations (PNTR) status to Vietnam in December 2006 and Vietnam joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) shortly after that. The two countries have become meaningful economic and trading partners and has embarked on a strategic dialogue about a number of regional and global issues with great importance to peace, security and prosperity in Southeast Asia and Asia/Pacific.

Recognizing the importance of consolidating the friendship and cooperation between the two Pacific nations, in August 2009, the US and Vietnam agreed to open a new Vietnam Consulate General office in Houston, Texas and expand the US consular district from Ho Chi Minh city to 22 provinces in the southern part of Vietnam.

Vietnam Consulate General office in Houston has officially inaugurated on March 25th 2010 after some months of preparations and test running. We have enjoyed the friendship and cooperation from many friends, business and especially the Vietnamese American community here in the great city of Houston and throughout the Lone Star State of Texas.

To further the understanding and friendship between the peoples of the two countries and to help you learn more about Vietnam, the Consulate General of Vietnam in would like to invite you to visit our web-site.

We are happy to help you with further information and welcome your comments. Thank you for your attention.

Consul General