Vietnam is seeking to boost cooperation with the US for the benefit of both countries, said the Prime Minister at a meeting with US Senator James Webb in Hanoi on July 8.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung asked Webb to persuade the US administration not to set up barriers against their exports, especially Vietnamese seafood products such as tra fish and shrimp as these products help improve Vietnamese poor farmers, and to provide more scholarships for Vietnamese students and build the US University in Vietnam.

While welcoming the visit of US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton to Vietnam, Dung expressed his hope that the US President Barack Obama will attend the ASEAN-US Summit which is scheduled to take place in Hanoi at the end of this year.

Webb pledged that for his part, he would do his utmost to boost the two countries' cooperative ties in the fields of economics, trade, investment and education and training.

As Vietnam took the chair of the ASEAN, Webb said he was very interested in Mekong river issues and affirmed he would help Vietnam and other regional countries cope well with the climate change.

Regarding to the recent situation in the East Sea, Webb said that relevant countries should cooperate with each other to ensure peace and maritime security under international laws and any disputes should be settled by negotiations, but not by force and threatening to use force.

The US supports the regional countries in the search of a long-term solution for the East Sea issue, said Webb, adding that first and foremost, relevant countries have to strictly abide by the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC).