Clinton administration alumni Bob Schiffer reflects: 25th anniversary of restored diplomatic relations between the United States and Vietnam
Bob Schiffer served as senior advisor to U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam and vice president of Overseas Private Investment Corporation.
July 11 marked the 25th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between the United States and Vietnam. In taking this historic step during his first term, President Clinton showed the personal courage to look forward in restoring diplomatic relations, an effort that has led to the development of a remarkable political and economic relationship between the two countries.
This effort started in 1993 when a U.S. Delegation paid a visit to Hanoi to turn over documents and start the process of accounting for soldiers missing in action on both sides. In addition, the Clinton administration approved $3.5 million in humanitarian aid for orphans and prosthetics.
In 1995, the year after lifting the 19-year-old trade embargo on Vietnam, President Clinton worked closely with Senator John Kerry, Senator Bob Kerrey, Senator John McCain, and Senator Chuck Robb, along with the many veterans serving in Congress, to forge a bipartisan approach that led to the formal accounting of the missing in action from the Vietnam War and humanitarian assistance that has helped Vietnam clear its landmines and support children with disabilities. These efforts helped pave the way to establish the first joint scientific research on dioxins that later led to U.S. aid in cleaning up the hotspots caused by Agent Orange.
In 1997, President Clinton appointed Douglas “Pete” Peterson as the first U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam in 22 years. Peterson was a three-term congressman, who had spent over six years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. I was honored to have been appointed as Ambassador Peterson’s senior advisor, helping with the negotiations of the U.S.-Vietnam Bilateral Trade Agreement and opening our USAID programs in Vietnam.
In 2000, President Clinton made a historic trip to Vietnam — the first president to visit the country since U.S. troops withdrew in 1975. I had the honor of serving as the control officer for this trip, which followed the completion of negotiations of the comprehensive Bilateral Trade Agreement that has resulted in Vietnam now being the 13th largest trading partner of the United States, with close to $60 billion in annual bilateral trade in recent years.
During this trip, thousands of people came out to see President Clinton on the roads from the airport to his hotel in Hanoi. He spoke live on television to the people of Vietnam from the Vietnam National University, where he announced the Vietnam Education Foundation that was funded from the debt Vietnam paid back from non-military assistance it had borrowed from the U.S. Treasury. This program, approved by Congress following the president’s trip, led to fellowships in post-graduate education for Vietnamese students to study in the United States in science, technology, medicine, mathematics, and engineering.
Since President Clinton’s visit to Vietnam in 2000, he has made four additional trips to the country, largely in support of the Clinton Foundation’s work in fighting HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis, as well as in continued support in the fight against climate change.
When President Clinton visited Vietnam in 2015 on the 20th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations, he described the effort as “one of the most important achievements of my presidency,” one that helped lift the burden that had been weighing down the American spirit since the Vietnam War.
It has been an extraordinary honor to have seen the impact of this important effort up close and personal.
Bob Schiffer began his federal service in the Clinton administration in 1993, where he worked as a special assistant in the Office of Management and Budget on the National Performance Review. From 1993–1997, Schiffer held senior positions at the United States Information Agency (USIA). In addition, Schiffer served as senior advisor to U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam and vice president of Overseas Private Investment Corporation.
PLEASE NOTE: The views expressed here reflect those of the author and do not necessarily represent an endorsement by the Clinton Foundation.
