3:26:42 PM | 7/8/2005
Source: US Consulate General in HCM City.
July 7, 1991 United States Office for MIA Affairs opens for business officially in Hanoi. This is the first official USG agency present full-time in Vietnam since 1975.
January 1992 The Department of Defense establishes first Joint Task Force-Full Accounting (JTF-FA) commanded by Major General Thomas Needham, under the Commander-in-Chief of the Pacific.
1992 The first group of Vietnamese Fulbright student grantees arrive in the U.S.
1993 Fulbright Economics Teaching Program established in HCMC.
May 1994 Consular Agreed Minute signed by the U.S. and Vietnam.
July 11, 1995 President Clinton announces "normalization of relations'' with Vietnam.
August 6, 1995 Secretary of State Warren Christopher visits Hanoi, the first U.S. Secretary of State to visit Vietnam since 1975. He officially opens the U.S. embassy. Vietnam opensits own embassy in Washington
September 4, 1995 President George Bush (Sr.) and Ms. Bush visit Vietnam.
November 7-10, 1995 Former Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara visits Vietnam.
1995 Student visa issuance to Vietnamese totals 326 for the year.
May 1996 U.S. presents Vietnam with a trade agreement blueprint.
July 12, 1996 U.S. National Security Adviser Anthony Lake visits Hanoi to mark the first anniversary of normalization of relations.
April 7, 1997 U.S. Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin and Finance Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung sign accord in Hanoi for Vietnam to repay debts of US$145 million, from the former government of South Vietnam.
April 10, 1997 Senate confirms Douglas “Pete” Peterson, Vietnam War veteran and former prisoner of war (POW), as Ambassador. Vietnam's Le Van Bang is confirmed as Vietnam's ambassador to the United States.
May 1997 Information Resource Center opened by the Public Affairs Section in Hanoi.
May 9, 1997 Peterson takes up post as U.S. Ambassador in Hanoi, Le Van Bang becomes Ambassador in Washington, DC.
June 24, 1997 Secretary of State Madeline Albright visits Vietnam on an official visit. The U.S. and Vietnam announce the establishment of their respective Consulate Generals in San Francisco and Ho Chi Minh City.
August 1997 U.S. government, under the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), begins a commercial law program.
March 11, 1998 President Clinton issues waiver of Jackson-Vanik Amendment for Vietnam, paving the way for OPIC, Ex-Im, TDA, USDA and MARAD.
March 26, 1998 Minister of Planning & Investment Tran Xuan Gia and Ambassador Pete Peterson finalize signing of the OPIC bilateral for Vietnam.
June 1, 1998 USAID begins first non-humanitarian assistance in Vietnam, the U.S. Asia Environmental Partnership
July 23, 1998 The U.S. Senate votes 66-34 to continue funding for the U.S. Embassy in Vietnam based on ongoing cooperation on the POW/MIA issue.
March 13, 2000 Secretary of Defense William Cohen becomes the first U.S. Defense Secretary to visit Vietnam since the end of the War.
July 13, 2000 Vietnam Trade Minister Vu Khoan and USTR Ambassador Barshefsky sign an agreement on trade relations at USTR. President Clinton announces the
conclusion of a bilateral trade agreement at a White House Rose Garden ceremony.
November 16, 2000 USAID officially opens its office in Hanoi.
November 16-20, 2000 President Clinton visits Vietnam, with Commerce Secretary Norman Mineta, USTR Ambassador Charlene Barshefsky, Senator John Kerry (D-MA), Congressmen Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Vic Snyder (D-Ark), Mike Thompson (D-CA) and Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez (D-CA). Business delegations and the leadership of the Veterans of Foreign Wars attend.
November 17, 2000 The U.S. Department of Labor and Vietnam’s Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs sign a Memorandum of Understanding on Labor cooperation.
2000 Student visa issuance to Vietnamese totals 1168 for the year
January 2001 The Vietnam Education Foundation Act of 2000 established by an Act of Congress, which will provide annual funding of US$5 million until 2019 for Vietnamese students to study in the United States.
January 15-18, 2001 House Minority leader Dick Gephardt (D-MO) and Congressman Ray LaHood (R-IL) lead a Congressional delegation to Vietnam.
July 24-26, 2001 Secretary of State Colin Powell pays a three-day visit to Vietnam where he attended the ASEAN Regional Forum in Hanoi. It was Powell's first visit to Vietnam since he served in the war in 1969.
September 27, 2001 USAID and the Government of Vietnam sign their first bilateral foreign assistance project. The project supports implementation of the U.S.-Vietnam Bilateral Trade Agreement.
October 10, 2001 Ambassador Nguyen Tam Chien presents Letter of Credence to President George W. Bush at the White House.
October 17, 2001 President George Bush signs the Bilateral Trade Agreement into law.
December 3, 2001 Ambassador Raymond Burghardt is sworn in as U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam.
December 9-14, 2001 Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung heads a high level delegation to Washington DC, New York and San Francisco, accompanied by Vu Khoan - Minister of Trade, Tran Xuan Gia - Minister of Planning and Investment, Nguyen Manh Kiem - Minister of Construction, and other government officials and over 60 members from the Vietnamese private sector.
December 10, 2001 U.S - Vietnam Bilateral Trade Agreement signed into force at a Blair House ceremony with Deputy Prime Minister Dung, Trade Minister Vu Khoan and USTR Ambassador Robert Zoellick. Conference and banquet hosted by US-Vietnam Trade Council.
March 3-6, 2002 The first Vietnamese-U.S. scientific conference on Agent Orange opened in Hanoi, with the participation of hundreds of U.S. and Vietnamese researchers.
May 10, 2002 Vice President Nguyen Thi Binh visits Washington, DC.
May 18, 2002 Vice Minister Luong Van Tu of Ministry of Trade Delegation visits U.S.
June 1-8, 2002 Minister of Justice Nguyen Dinh Loc visits the U.S. on BTA implementation.
June 12-22, 2002 Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Manh Cam visits Texas, New York, Massachusetts and Washington DC.
July 17, 2003 Vietnam-U.S. Garment and Textile Agreement signed in Hanoi by Vietnamese Minister of Trade Truong Dinh Tuyen and U.S. Ambassador Raymond Burghardt.
September 16, 2003 Vietnam’s Minister of Trade Truong Dinh Tuyen visits the U.S.
October 5, 2003 Vietnam’s Minister of Planning & Investment Vo Hong Phuc visits the U.S. to promote bilateral investment.
November 10, 2003 Vietnam’s Minister of Defense Pham Van Tra Visits the U.S. to discuss cooperation in regional security promotion.
November 19, 2003 Navy missile frigate USS Vandegrift docks in the port of Ho Chi Minh City, a symbolic act aimed at boosting relations between Vietnam and the United States. Many in the crew are sons and daughters of Vietnam War veterans. It is the first U.S. ship to dock in Vietnam since the end of the war.
December 4, 2003 Vietnam Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan visits Washington, DC and other U.S. cities. The U.S. and Vietnam sign a bilateral aviation agreement.
December 12, 2003 Vietnam WTO negotiators participate in a Working Party Meeting in Geneva. Bilateral discussions are held with the U.S.
December 2003 Letter of agreement on Counter narcotics cooperation signed by Ambassador Le Van Bang and Ambassador Burghardt.
February 26, 2004 First American Corner opens in Danang.
April 2, 2004 Announcement of the formation of the U.S. Vietnam Caucus, which seeks to monitor and support normalized relations between the U.S. & Vietnam in the U.S. Congress with Congressmen Rob Simmons (R-CT) and Lane Evans (D-IL) as co-chairs. National Assembly Vice President Mr. Nguyen Phuc Thanh and Vietnamese Ambassador to the US, H.E. Nguyen Tam Chien hosted an event to celebrate this occasion on April 28th, 2004.
May 6, 2004 Confirmation by the Senate of Michael W. Marine, of Vermont, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service to be the third U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam in the post war period.
June 3, 2004 President Bush signs and sends to Congress the annual extension of authorization for the Jackson-Vanik waiver, including Vietnam.
June 7 - 12, 2004 Truong Dinh Tuyen, Vietnam’s Minister of Trade, meets in Washington with key US government officials to discuss Vietnam's accession to the WTO, the US-Vietnam Textile Agreement, the ITC investigation on shrimp imports, and implementation of the US-Vietnam BTA.
June 16, 2004 Vietnam holds the 8th Working Party round of WTO accession negotiations in Geneva, Switzerland. Bilateral negotiations are held with various member countries including Australia, the EU, and the U.S.
June 23, 2004 U.S. President George W. Bush designated Vietnam as a new recipient for the US$15 billion plan to combat AIDS globally, expanding the initiative from Africa to Asia for the first time. As a “focus country”, the United States can sharply increase funding to nongovernmental organizations that provide AIDS services in Vietnam.
July 22 – 23, 2004 Deputy USTR Josette Shiner visits Hanoi to discuss BTA Implementation and Vietnam’s WTO Accession.
July 28, 2004 USS Curtis Wilbur DDG-54 arrives in Danang, becoming the second U.S. Navy ship to visit Vietnam since 1975. The ship is scheduled to spend six days in port. Senior officers of the warship meet the local officials and representatives of the Vietnamese Navy Zone 3.
July 2004 First project implemented under the Letter of Agreement between U.S. customs border protection and Ministry of Public Security.
September 19-26, 2004 Washington State Governor Gary Locke leads a 25-member trade delegation through Vietnam to explore business opportunities for the state.
September 20-24, 2004 Minister of Justice Uong Chu Luu and his delegation visits Washington D.C. and New York City, sponsored by the UNDP.
October 5, 2004 Vice Minister of Finance Le Thi Bang Tam visits the U.S.
October 18-20, 2004 Assistant Secretary of Consular Affairs Maura Harty visits HCMC and Hanoi.
October 25-28, 2004 Members of the US Working Party and Vietnam’s WTO negotiating team meet in Washington, DC for another round of bilateral negotiations and discussions on multilateral commitments for Vietnam’s WTO accession
November 30 - December 18, 2004 National Assemblywoman Madam Ton Nu Thi Ninh visits the US on a three-week tour.
December 10, 2004 BTA Renewed by President Bush
December 11, 2004 United Airlines inaugural flight and direct service between the U.S. and Vietnam established.
2004 Student visa issuance to Vietnamese totals 2597 for the year.
March 14-16, 2005 The next round of U.S.-Vietnam bilateral talks on Vietnam's accession to the WTO is held in Washington.
March 29, 2005 The USS Gary arrives in the port of HCMC, marking the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between the United States and Vietnam.
May 5-6, 2005 Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick visits Hanoi and HCMC.
June 2005 Prime Minister Phan Van Khai to visits the U.S. and meets with President Bush.
July 12, 2005 10th Anniversary of Normalization of U.S.-Vietnam Diplomatic Relations.
December 13-18, 2005 (planned) Vietnam’s WTO accession at The Sixth WTO Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong, China.
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