President Obama said Monday that the Peace Corps will operate in Vietnam for the first time since President Kennedy established the humanitarian organization.
“And I’m very pleased that, for the first time, the Peace Corps will come to Vietnam,” Obama said in a joint press conference in Hanoi with Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang. “Our Peace Corps volunteers will focus on teaching English, and the friendship that our people forge will bring us closer together for decades to come.”
Obama’s stop in Vietnam was the first leg of his week-long trip to Asia, and he discussed human rights with the communist leader.
“[T]he United States does not seek to impose our form of government on Vietnam or on any nation,” he said. “We respect Vietnam’s sovereignty and independence. At the same time, we will continue to speak out on behalf of human rights that we believe are universal, including freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion and freedom of assembly. And that includes the right of citizens, through civil society, to organize and help improve their communities and their country.”
“We believe, and I believe, that nations are stronger and more prosperous when these universal rights are upheld, and when our two countries continue to discuss these issues as part of our human rights dialogue in a spirit of constructive and cooperative effort,” he added.
Obama also dedicated the U.S. to helping fully remove Agent Orange from the Danang Airport, the international airport outside of Hanoi. The chemical cleanup continues decades after the U.S. deployed it during the Vietnam War.
“Vietnam is important not just to the region, but to the world,” Obama said. “It’s a large and vital country in a large and vital region of the world,” the president added.
Obama also reiterated that the 12 Pacific Rim nations should ratify the Trans-Pacific Partnership quickly. He said he already “sold” the deal to Vietnam, and stressed that Asia is an enormous market for the U.S., and the fastest growing region.
