Another significant step favoring the improvement of relationships between the U.S. and Vietnam was made on Tuesday, when President George W. Bush met the Prime Minister of Vietnam to discuss the matter of closer connections in what concerns commerce and religious freedom.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung declared that the United States and Vietnam have agreed to commence senior-level conferences on economics and defense.

He referred to the “rapid development in the Vietnam-U.S. relationship toward a friendly and constructive partnership.”

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung also met with the Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates to negotiate closer military collaboration between the two nations. To attend this meeting, the Prime Minister of Vietnam made a journey across the Potomac River to the Pentagon.

According to a Defense Department spokesman, Dung is the highest-level Vietnamese official that visited the Pentagon since the departure of U.S. forces and the collapse of South Vietnam in 1975.

After meeting Dung, President Bush said that “our relationship with Vietnam is getting closer, in a spirit of respect.” He also thanked the prime minister for facilitating to strengthen the bonds between their country and its former enemy.

Tuesday’s significant visit came approximately one year after the U.S. President made a short visit to Hanoi and represents an important step in the evolution of the partnership between the two countries.