 Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Lyndon B. Johnson, Centennial Chair in National Policy at the LBJ School of Public Affairs, Admiral Bobby R. Inman. In July of 1967, I arrived in Hawaii from a tour in Sweden to be head of current intelligence for the Pacific Fleet. Once a quarter, I would go in country, most often Saigon, Da Nang. And then in May of 69, I went out to be the 7th Fleet Intelligence Officer. For the following 27 months, I was in the combat zone every month. And by the end of that time, I had grown pretty pessimistic about how this event was going to play out. When the agreement was signed in for the withdrawal, I was not serving in the intelligence world. And then when Saigon fell in 75, I was the Director of Naval Intelligence. At that point, I was very pessimistic about what our relationships with that part of the world were going to be over the ensuing years. And never on the rare occasions when I was optimistic that I conceived of Vietnam that would become a significant trading partner and that we would in fact have a substantial number of common interests. So I was pleased with the opportunity to address and particularly to introduce to you the current Vietnamese Ambassador of the United States. Pham Vong Vinh started college the year that Saigon fell, graduated in 1980, went down to Australia to brush up his English, came back, and much of his career subsequent to that has been focusing on international organizations. He's done two tours in Vietnam Embassy representing to the United Nations. He is the highest ranking career diplomat. That's still a very young man. So it's a great honor for me to introduce to you Ambassador Pham Vong Vinh. I thank you very much. And I feel privileged to be invited to this event and August's audience. I thank you for the invitation, hospitality, and arrangements, especially from the NBJ Presidential Library and the NBJ Foundation. Earlier today had chance to talk with Mark Upgrove, Director of NBJ Presidential Library, Larry Tambo, Ben Banner, Amy Bakby, Chairman, Vice Chairman, Executive Director of the NBJ Foundation. I did take a brief tour of the library and had a working lunch with the Chamber of Commerce here in Austin. And I'm so much honored to meet and talk briefly with the daughters of President Johnson, Lucy Bans Johnson, Linda Johnson-Rom. I express my great thanks to you all for that. It seems I have had already a tour of history from decades ago to this event. I've been brief of the schedule of this summit and its panels, which would reflect a wide range of perspectives and experiences, including those from the veterans of their war experience, as well as the trauma that followed, the anti-war occupies a chance, movements, the media, and the Hollywood. I knew since the end of the war, there have been numerous discussions on this war, including those between Vietnam and America. All this will add to the facts and depths of our studies and reflections. In this panel, I've been invited to share with you on the theme of America and Vietnam in the 21st century, a new beginning. I thank Admiral Robbie Inman for the gracious introduction. I share the belief that this panel will give us a chance to discuss how far our countries have come since the end of the war and what we can do more to further this constructive and comprehensive partnership of our two countries. I wanted to share with you a little bit of history. Vietnam and the U.S. has a long history of context. Nearly 230 years ago, Thomas Jefferson, one of the drafters of the U.S. Declaration of Independence, and would later become the third U.S. president, had been trying to get the right seat from Vietnam to grow in his own town, the state of Virginia. And he wrote at that point in time, this dry rise from Vietnam has a reputation of being the whitest to the eye, best flayer to the taste, and most productive. And more than 100 years ago, back in 1911, 1912, President Ho Chi Minh came to Boston, the cradle of American Revolution of Independence, to fight ways for the liberation of his country, Vietnam, at that point in time under the French rule. And as early as 1941, during World War II, the Vietnamese people stood by the sides of the Allies against fascism and sustained their struggle by national patriotism and by the promises made by the Allies at the Anta, San Francisco, and post-Dame conferences. And in September 1945, Vietnam got independence from the French colonial, and the new Vietnam Declaration of Independence included the ideals of Jefferson. And I quote, all men are created equal. The Creator has given us certain inviolable rights, the right to life, the right to be free, the right to achieve happiness. Between 1945 and 1946, President Ho Chi Minh wrote several letters to President Truman to seek a full cooperation with the U.S., however, the relationship was missed 70 years ago. And not the war, nor as the Vietnam War here, nor the American War in our country. It was painful for everyone. For us Vietnam, we were forced to defend our national independence and freedom with untold sufferings, and the painful legacies of war persisted until today. During the war, 3 million dead, 4 million in church and handicapped, 4.8 million exposed to dark scenes and the ancient orange hundreds of thousands still missing. President Clinton called it a painful and haunting war, and Secretary Kerry called it most profound failure of diplomatic spirit, insight, and political vision. But we are happy to have a new chapter, the chapter from First to Friends. In 1995, President Clinton announced the normalization of diplomatic relations with Vietnam. And as we look back today, we thank all those who have played a part in ending the war, and thank the American people from all walks of life who had voiced opposition to the war and supported the Vietnamese people. In this regard, we pay tribute to all those who have helped, and to the personalities such as Martin Luther King. We also thank those on both sides who have been working hard for the normalization and promotion of relations of our two countries, on our part from the policy of set aside the past and look to the future, and from the humanitarian spirit Vietnam has been and continue to do in cooperating fully and effectively with the American side, on the war legacy especially on the MIA issue. And we will continue to be working together for a new future of our two, of our relations. President Clinton, when he announced the normalization of diplomatic relations with Vietnam on July 11, 1995, made a special note of those who had helped make this difficult decision happen. That includes Senators John Marken, John Kerry, Bob Kerry, Chuck Roth, and Representative Peterson, among others. And we have many others, Americans and Vietnamese, who have helped working hard to help in the efforts of healing and reconciliation, especially the veterans from both sides. As our relationship grew, since 2013, the two countries have established a comprehensive partnership, outlining wide-ranging areas of cooperation on such efforts of two countries. General Secretary Nguyen Phu Chau on his visit in July last year has observed 20 years ago few people could imagine how Vietnam and the U.S. could overcome the pains of the war and build a relationship of positive and regardless development at that of today. And now, when you hear the word Vietnam, it is no longer a conflict but a country. And I wish to preview on Vietnam as well, a country of dynamic development and pro-active integration. We have worked hard to overcome the consequences of the war and undertook three decades of renovation and reform to build our country in all areas. As a result, today, we have reduced the level of poverty from 50 percent three decades ago to now under 5 percent and achieved an average annual growth rate of 6 to 7 percent for many years. Vietnam has been a leading exporter in several areas, such as rice, pepper, coffee, textile, and other agricultural products and seafoods. We will continue to strengthen further our market-based economic development, innovation, and entrepreneurship. We also expect that the income per capita will be raised to 3,200 to 3,500 U.S. dollars in the next five years. And we have a dynamic and industrious population with more than 50 percent under 30 years of age. Digital coverage within the population is high, with 50 percent having access to the Internet, 38 percent using social media, and 142 percent having mobile subscriptions. On external relations, we have always advocated peace, friendship, and cooperation based on mutual respect and benefit. And we have now had diplomatic relations with more than 190 countries in the world and have been active members of many regional and international organizations, including the United Nations, the WTO, APEC, and ASAN. And we have become partners in many regional and bilateral free trade arrangements, FTA, such as the TPP and the FTA with the EU, even five Vietnam, a reliable partner, and a good place for business. Now on the U.S. and Vietnam relations at the current point, I think we have foundations for stronger partnership. Last year, 2015, we commemorated 20 years of our diplomatic relations. It was marked by the first-ever historic visit by Channel Secretary Nguyen Phu Thao to the U.S., during which the Channel Secretary and President Obama met at the Oval Office and issued a joint vision statement on strengthening further our two countries' comprehensive partnership. During these two decades, we recognize the outstanding achievements recorded so far in many areas of our cooperation, including in particular economic and trade relations, cooperation in addressing the world-legacy issues, as well as in science and technology, education, hand care, environment, climate change, security and defense, and in regional and global issues of mutual concern. We have been able to talk also on issues of differences, such as human rights. And this year, 2016, President Obama will be soon visiting Vietnam, also his first visit to Vietnam, next month in May. The two sides are making efforts of preparations to ensure the visit a success, which will further deepen and strengthen our two countries' relations. Today, Vietnam and the U.S. have solid foundations for stronger partnership as we look to the future of our relations and be further up on our comprehensive partnership. And I wish to highlight the following key areas. Political ties, we agree to continue to deepen relationship on the basis of mutual respect and benefit, including the respect of each other's political system and sovereignty and to advance further cooperation in both bilateral and multilateral levels for the benefit of both peoples contributing to peace, stability, cooperation and prosperity in Asia, as well as the world. In this regard, we will increase as a priority, exchange at high levels and expand consultations to be in trust and to promote cooperation in all areas. Trade and investment cooperation has always been a key pillar in our relationship. For the past two decades, our trade volume has increased 90 times, and I think that Secretary Kerry, last night, also mentioned these figures from about half a billion U.S. dollars to now over 45 billion U.S. dollars. U.S. ranks number seven among the largest investors in Vietnam with about 11 billion U.S. dollars. But more could still be done, and potentials remain to be tapped, especially in the context of the TPP. We believe that the TPP, a high quality and balance agreement, will have enhanced trade and economic growth and job expansion for all participating countries and give impetus to the Asia-wide regional cooperation as a member of TPP, Vietnam is committed to the TPP and its implementation. We also request that the U.S. therefore to early recognize Vietnam as a market economy and do away with technical barriers in our trade relations. On defense and security, we will continue our bilateral cooperation in these areas, as all lie in the two countries' joint vision statement on defense relations. That was adopted June last year, 2015, and the defense cooperation MOU of 2011, including in the areas of maritime security, search and rescue, disaster relief, and peacekeeping. We will further our cooperation as a priority in addressing the war-legacy issues, and we expect the U.S. to give more assistance to Vietnam in terms of both funding and technology in the clearance of unexploded ordinances and dioxin remediation, including new projects such as that of the Bien Hoa Airport. Vietnam calls on the U.S. to totally lift the arms embargo on Vietnam and believe that this element of barrier of the past should be removed to reflect our full normalization of relations started two decades ago at the current level of our comprehensive partnership. We have a lot of cooperation in other areas such as education, science, and technology, social to people exchange. We will further advance our cooperation in these areas. Vietnam appreciates the U.S. continued assistance to Vietnam in all these areas, including in the area of innovation and startup. Since the achievements of the 1, 2, 3 agreement, we are working to further promote cooperation in the area of civil nuclear energy. Some expect that the U.S. will further assistance in dealing with climate change and sea level rise in the Mekong Delta as well. Vietnam has now more than 19,000 students studying at universities in the U.S., ranking first among the Southeast Asian nations, and number eight across the world. We welcome the establishment of the Fulbright University in Vietnam and other university partnerships to further accelerate our education cooperation. Today every year more than 500,000 American visits Vietnam each year, and we will continue to encourage greater numbers of tourists, students, and business visitors to both countries. Vietnam always recognized the Vietnamese overseas, including those in the U.S., as part of the Vietnamese nation, and facilitate their ties with the homeland, and appreciate their role as bridges of relationship with the host countries, between Vietnam and the whole countries. In the Choy-Vision Statement of 2015, the two countries recognized the success of the Vietnamese community in the U.S., and their many contributions both to the development of the U.S. and Vietnam. And to better Vietnam-U.S. relations. On regional and global issues, we continue to increase our cooperation on sustainable development and on addressing global and regional issues of mutual concern, including natural disaster, water security, pandemics, and wildlife trafficking, et cetera. The two countries are also expanding cooperation on global health security, and on the lower Mekong initiative. We commend the recent successful convening of the ASEAN-U.S. summit in Sunnylands, which highlighted the ASEAN-U.S. strategic partnership and ASEAN-Central role in the regional cooperation and architecture in East Asia. We will work together with other ASEAN countries for the follow-up of its outcomes, including the initiatives to support the ASEAN community and ASEAN Connect. We support the maintenance of peace, maritime security, and imperial commerce and freedoms of navigation in the South China Sea. We expect concern, therefore, over the recent developments in the area. Four countries' concern must abide by international law, especially the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Result to peaceful resolution of disputes, refrain from actions that raise tension and implement fully the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, and work for the early conclusion of a code of conduct in this area. In conclusion, I think that Vietnam and the U.S. are important partners. With a span of just two decades of normalization of relations, the two countries have made a big stride and obtained outstanding progress in their relationship. This is beyond expectations, and our partnership today has ranged from bilateral to multilateral cooperation. I believe that the two countries have solid foundations to strengthen further our comprehensive partnership, especially in the context of the coming visit to Vietnam by President Obama. I'm honored to be here, and thank you very much.