The United States Navy’s 7th Fleet flagship USS Blue Ridge and US Coast Guard Cutter Waesche arrived at Cam Ranh International Port in the south-central province of Khanh Hoa on Monday, starting a five-day joint Navy-Coast Guard routine port visit.
The leaders of Naval Region 4 of the Viet Nam People’s Navy, Coast Guard Region 3, along with representatives from Khanh Hoa Province and other Viet Nam’s authorities held the welcome ceremony for the visiting American crews.
Later on the same day, Commander of the 7th Fleet and leaders of the ships paid a courtesy call to leaders of the Khánh Hoà provincial People’s Committee.
Standing Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Le Huu Hoang emphasized the importance of the US ships’ visit as the US has celebrated the 248th anniversary of its Independence Day (July 4) and the two countries are marking 29 years since the normalization of diplomatic ties (July 12, 1995 – 2024)
The visit is expected to further promote the friendship and comprehensive strategic partnership between Viet Nam and the US, he said.
For his part, US Ambassador to Viet Nam Marc Knapper affirmed that Khanh Hoa has organized various activities to contribute to the development of the US-Viet Nam relationship.
The US will assist Khanh Hoa in attracting investment, especially in the fields of high technology and tourism, in the coming time, he added.
During the port visit, 7th Fleet, USS Blue Ridge and CGC Waesche leadership will additionally paid courtesy calls to the leadership of Việt Nam People’s Navy, Việt Nam Coast Guard. Events during the visit include subject matter expert exchanges and community relations activities.
Crew members and the 7th Fleet staff will participate in community relations and cultural events to give back to the community and engage with Khánh Hoà Province’s residents to further strengthen bilateral relations in line with Việt Nam-US Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
As the 7th Fleet flagship, Blue Ridge is the oldest operational ship in the Navy. This is the second time the USS Blue Ridge has come to Viet Nam since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1995.