Pakistan, Vietnam agree to expand trade
HANOI - Pakistan and Vietnam have agreed to begin regular diplomatic consultations and greatly increase trade, Pakistani
military ruler Gen. Pervez Musharraf said Saturday.
Musharraf said he held very fruitful and detailed meetings with Vietnamese Prime Minister Phan Van Khai and President Tran
Duc Luong.
"The future looks very bright between Vietnam and Pakistan," he said.
Musharraf's three-day visit was the first by a Pakistani leader to Vietnam since the two countries established diplomatic ties in
1972. Pakistan only recently opened an embassy in Vietnam.
Musharraf, who seized power in an October 1999 coup, arrived in Vietnam from Myanmar, which like Pakistan faces diplomatic
isolation as both are governed by unelected military regimes.
Musharraf said Pakistan and Vietnam agreed to boost their two-way trade from about $15 million to $100 million per year.
Within three months, a ministerial delegation will explore each market and determine what can be traded between the two
countries, he said. Possible exports from Pakistan include cotton, pharmaceuticals, fish and textiles, while possible Vietnamese
exports include pepper and ground nuts, he said.
The two countries will also begin regular diplomatic consultations during which they will coordinate their policies toward
international organizations "to defend the interests of developing countries," Musharraf said.
He said he told Vietnam's leaders that Pakistan wants to resolve its conflict with India over the Kargil section of India-held
Kashmir "through peaceful means and through a dialogue with India."
India has refused to hold talks with Pakistan, saying Islamabad must end support to Islamic militants fighting for Kashmir's
independence from India since 1989. Pakistan denies it gives material aid to the groups based within its borders.
Musharraf told Vietnam, which currently chairs the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, that Pakistan wants to strengthen its
relations with ASEAN by becoming a full "dialogue partner" with the regional organization and participating in the Asian Regional
Forum, an annual security consultation. India has attempted to block Pakistan's participation.
Musharraf's trip to Vietnam follows a visit several months ago by Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, who unlike
Musharraf met with Vietnam's Communist Party chief, the country's most powerful leader.
"No, we were not disappointed," Musharraf said of the lack of a meeting with new party head Nong Duc Manh. "This was our
first contact and it was supposed to be at the government level ... I'm sure (in the future) meetings at the secretary general level
will also take place."
The Associated Press - May 5, 2001.
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