(applause)

Xin chào Vietnam!

(applause)

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

To the government and the people of Vietnam, thank you

for this very warm welcome and the hospitality that you

have shown to me on this visit.

And thank all of you for being here today.

(applause)

We have Vietnamese from across this great country,

including so many young people who represent the

dynamism, and the talent and the hope of Vietnam.

On this visit, my heart has been touched by the kindness

for which the Vietnamese people are known.

In the many people who have been lining the streets,

smiling and waving, I feel the friendship

between our peoples.

Last night, I visited the Old Quarter here in Hanoi

and enjoyed some outstanding Vietnamese food.

I tried some Bún Ch .

(applause)

Drank some bia Ha Noi.

But I have to say, the busy streets of this city, I've

never seen so many motorbikes in my life.

(laughter)

So I haven't had to try to cross the street so far, but

maybe when I come back and visit you can tell me how.

I am not the first American President to come to Vietnam

in recent times.

But I am the first, like so many of you, who came of age

after the war between our countries.

When the last U.S.

forces left Vietnam, I was just 13 years old.

So my first exposure to Vietnam and the Vietnamese

people came when I was growing up in Hawaii, with

its proud Vietnamese American community there.

At the same time, many people in this country are

much younger than me.

Like my two daughters, many of you have lived your whole

lives knowing only one thing -- and that is peace and

normalized relations between Vietnam and the United States.

So I come here mindful of the past, mindful of our

difficult history, but focused on the future -- the

prosperity, security and human dignity

that we can advance together.

I also come here with a deep respect for Vietnam's

ancient heritage.

For millennia, farmers have tended these lands -- a

history revealed in the Dong Son drums.

At this bend in the river, Hanoi has endured for more

than a thousand years.

The world came to treasure Vietnamese silks and

paintings, and a great Temple of Literature stands

as a testament to your pursuit of knowledge.

And yet, over the centuries, your fate was too often

dictated by others.

Your beloved land was not always your own.

But like bamboo, the unbroken spirit of the

Vietnamese people was captured by Ly Thuong Kiet

-- "the Southern emperor rules the Southern land.

Our destiny is writ in Heaven's Book."

Today, we also remember the longer history between

Vietnamese and Americans that is too often overlooked.

More than 200 years ago, when our Founding Father,

Thomas Jefferson, sought rice for his farm, he looked

to the rice of Vietnam, which he said had "the

reputation of being whitest to the eye, best flavored to

the taste, and most productive."

Soon after, American trade ships arrived in your ports

seeking commerce.

During the Second World War, Americans came here to

support your struggle against occupation.

When American pilots were shot down, the Vietnamese

people helped rescue them.

And on the day that Vietnam declared its independence,

crowds took to the streets of this city, and Ho Chi

Minh evoked the American Declaration of Independence.

He said, "All people are created equal.

The Creator has endowed them with inviolable rights.

Among these rights are the right to life, the right to

liberty, and the right to the pursuit of happiness."

In another time, the profession of these shared

ideals and our common story of throwing off colonialism

might have brought us closer together sooner.

But instead, Cold War rivalries and fears of

communism pulled us into conflict.

Like other conflicts throughout human history, we

learned once more a bitter truth -- that war, no matter

what our intentions may be, brings suffering

and tragedy.

At your war memorial not far from here, and with family

altars across this country, you remember some 3 million

Vietnamese, soldiers and civilians, on both sides,

who lost their lives.

At our memorial wall in Washington, we can touch the

names of 58,315 Americans who gave their lives

in the conflict.

In both our countries, our veterans and families of the

fallen still ache for the friends and loved ones

that they lost.

Just as we learned in America that, even if we

disagree about a war, we must always honor those who

serve and welcome them home with the respect they

deserve, we can join together today, Vietnamese

and Americans, and acknowledge the pain and the

sacrifices on both sides.

More recently, over the past two decades, Vietnam has

achieved enormous progress, and today the world can see

the strides that you have made.

With economic reforms and trade agreements, including

with the United States, you have entered the global

economy, selling your goods around the world.

More foreign investment is coming in.

And with one of the fastest-growing economies in

Asia, Vietnam has moved up to become

a middle-income nation.

We see Vietnam's progress in the skyscrapers and

high-rises of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, and new

shopping malls and urban centers.

We see it in the satellites Vietnam puts into space and

a new generation that is online, launching startups

and running new ventures.

We see it in the tens of millions of Vietnamese

connected on Facebook and Instagram.

And you're not just posting selfies -- although I hear

you do that a lot --

(laughter)

-- and so far, there have been a number of people who

have already asked me for selfies.

You're also raising your voices for causes that you

care about, like saving the old trees of Hanoi.

So all this dynamism has delivered real progress

in people's lives.

Here in Vietnam, you've dramatically reduced extreme

poverty, you've boosted family incomes and lifted

millions into a fast-growing middle class.

Hunger, disease, child and maternal mortality are all down.

The number of people with clean drinking water and

electricity, the number of boys and girls in school,

and your literacy rate -- these are all up.

This is extraordinary progress.

This is what you have been able to achieve

in a very short time.

And as Vietnam has transformed, so has the

relationship between our two nations.

We learned a lesson taught by the venerable Thich Nhat

Hanh, who said, "In true dialogue, both sides are

willing to change."

In this way, the very war that had divided us became a

source for healing.

It allowed us to account for the missing and finally

bring them home.

It allowed us to help remove landmines and unexploded

bombs, because no child should ever lose a leg

just playing outside.

Even as we continue to assist Vietnamese with

disabilities, including children, we are also

continuing to help remove Agent Orange -- dioxin -- so

that Vietnam can reclaim more of your land.

We're proud of our work together in Danang, and we

look forward to supporting your efforts in Bien Hoa.

Let's also not forget that the reconciliation between

our countries was led by our veterans who once faced each

other in battle.

Think of Senator John McCain, who was held for

years here as a prisoner of war, meeting General Giap,

who said our countries should not be enemies

but friends.

Think of all the veterans, Vietnamese and American, who

have helped us heal and build new ties.

Few have done more in this regard over the years than

former Navy lieutenant, and now Secretary of State of

the United States, John Kerry, who is here today.

And on behalf of all of us, John, we thank you for your

extraordinary effort.

(applause)

Because our veterans showed us the way, because warriors

had the courage to pursue peace, our peoples are now

closer than ever before.

Our trade has surged.

Our students and scholars learn together.

We welcome more Vietnamese students to America than

from any other country in Southeast Asia.

And every year, you welcome more and more American

tourists, including young Americans with their

backpacks, to Hanoi's 36 Streets and the shops of Hoi

An, and the imperial city of Hue.

As Vietnamese and Americans, we can all relate to those

words written by Van Cao -- "From now, we know each

other's homeland; from now, we learn to feel

for each other."

As President, I've built on this progress.

With our new Comprehensive Partnership, our governments

are working more closely together than ever before.

And with this visit, we've put our relationship on a

firmer footing for decades to come.

In a sense, the long story between our two nations that

began with Thomas Jefferson more than two centuries ago

has now come full circle.

It has taken many years and required great effort.

But now we can say something that was once unimaginable:

Today, Vietnam and the United States are partners.

And I believe our experience holds lessons for the world.

At a time when many conflicts seem intractable,

seem as if they will never end, we have shown that

hearts can change and that a different future is possible

when we refuse to be prisoners of the past.

We've shown how peace can be better than war.

We've shown that progress and human dignity is best

advanced by cooperation and not conflict.

That's what Vietnam and America can show the world.

Now, America's new partnership with Vietnam is

rooted in some basic truths.

Vietnam is an independent, sovereign nation, and no

other nation can impose its will on you

or decide your destiny.

(applause)

Now, the United States has an interest here.

We have an interest in Vietnam's success.

But our Comprehensive Partnership is still

in its early stages.

And with the time I have left, I want to share with

you the vision that I believe can guide us

in the decades ahead.

First, let's work together to create real opportunity

and prosperity for all of our people.

We know the ingredients for economic success

in the 21st century.

In our global economy, investment and trade flows

to wherever there is rule of law, because no one wants to

pay a bribe to start a business.

Nobody wants to sell their goods or go to school if

they don't know how they're going to be treated.

In knowledge-based economies, jobs go to where

people have the freedom to think for themselves and

exchange ideas and to innovate.

And real economic partnerships are not just

about one country extracting resources from another.

They're about investing in our greatest resource, which

is our people and their skills and their talents,

whether you live in a big city or a rural village.

And that's the kind of partnership that America offers.

As I announced yesterday, the Peace Corps will come to

Vietnam for the first time, with a focus

on teaching English.