Close and Enduring Cooperation between Vietnam & USA

Over nearly three decades, Viet Nam–U.S. cooperation has continued to expand in both scope and depth across a wide range of areas, including politics, diplomacy, economics, trade, investment, defense, security, education and training, science and technology, healthcare, energy, innovation, and climate change response. The United States is currently one of Viet Nam’s leading trading partners and has remained Viet Nam’s largest export market for many consecutive years. The two countries maintain regular high-level dialogue mechanisms, promote delegation exchanges, and coordinate closely on regional and international issues of mutual concern.

In particular, the elevation of bilateral relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for Peace, Cooperation, and Sustainable Development in September 2023 marked a historic milestone, reflecting the growing political trust and the strong commitment of both nations to fostering long-term, stable, substantive, and effective cooperation.

In 2026, Viet Nam and the United States continue to work toward further strengthening and deepening their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership after more than 30 years of diplomatic relations. Both countries are focusing on enhancing cooperation in areas such as economics, trade, science and technology, education, and people-to-people exchanges, while also expanding collaboration in emerging sectors including digital transformation, clean energy, and semiconductor technology. In addition, Viet Nam and the United States continue to cooperate in addressing war legacy issues, promoting reconciliation, and building mutual trust, thereby contributing to peace, stability, and sustainable development in the region and around the world.

Alongside the continued strengthening of Viet Nam–U.S. relations on the occasion of the 2026 commemoration, social security development has also been given significant attention, including the important role of Vietnam Social Security (VSS). Efforts to promote digital transformation, reform administrative procedures, and expand international cooperation are expected to enhance service quality in the fields of social insurance, health insurance, and sustainable social welfare. This also provides VSS with valuable opportunities to learn from international experience and further modernize its social security system.

In the fields of social security and healthcare, VSS highly values and actively promotes cooperation with U.S. agencies, organizations, and partners in order to strengthen institutional capacity, modernize the insurance system, and better safeguard people’s rights and benefits. In recent years, VSS has closely collaborated with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.S. Embassy in Viet Nam, as well as various international organizations, enterprises, and U.S. experts to implement practical cooperation programs in health insurance and digital transformation.

Since 2015, VSS and USAID have maintained close cooperation in a number of important areas, including health financing and health insurance implementation for HIV and tuberculosis programs, the Sustainable Health System Development Project, and the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to support capacity building for VSS and improve the efficiency of the health insurance fund. Their cooperation has also included the application of Diagnosis-Related Group (DRG) payment methods, technical assistance for proposed amendments to the inter-provincial health insurance policy to improve fund efficiency, upgrading electronic logistics management information systems, and restructuring healthcare services. Cooperation activities have been carried out through various forms, including the sharing of international experience, legal and policy consultations, professional workshops, domestic and overseas training programs, and the provision of technical experts.

Currently, USAID-related activities continue to be coordinated and implemented in Viet Nam through the Health Security Section of the U.S. Embassy in Viet Nam. Current areas of cooperation focus on sharing international experience in health insurance fund management, reforming health financing policies, improving the efficiency of medical assessment and reimbursement processes, and applying information technology and big data in social security system governance. Notably, VSS and its U.S. partners have jointly researched, developed, and implemented the Diagnosis-Related Group (DRG) payment model to reform healthcare payment mechanisms, helping control costs, improve healthcare quality, and optimize the use of the health insurance fund.

In addition, both sides are promoting cooperation in digital transformation, database development, medical data connectivity and sharing, the development of electronic assessment systems, and the enhancement of modern governance capacity within the social security sector. Technical assistance and professional training programs supported by the United States have made significant contributions to administrative reform, improved public service quality, and the development of a modern, transparent, efficient, and sustainable social security system in Viet Nam.