Powell will visit Vietnam this year
WASHINGTON - Secretary of State Colin Powell will visit
Vietnam this year, he told a congressional committee on Thursday.
"I plan to visit Vietnam later in the year for meetings," he told
the House Budget Committee during a hearing on the State
Department's 2002 budget request.
Powell gave no details but U.S. secretaries of state usually
attend an annual gathering organized by the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The meetings this year will
take place in Hanoi in July.
The U.S. ambassador to Vietnam, Pete Peterson, has said he
expects Powell to try to attend those meetings.
Former President Clinton made a historic trip to Vietnam as
U.S. president in November 2000, the first by a U.S. president
since the Vietnam War. Madeleine Albright visited Vietnam as
secretary of state in 1999.
Powell said he supported the trade agreement signed by the
former enemies in July 2000. The agreement still needs to be
ratified by the U.S. Congress and Vietnam's National Assembly.
Hurdles to ratification include Vietnam's human rights record.
The two sides also need to work out an agreement on textiles,
which were not covered in the pact.
The Los Angeles Times - March 15, 2001.
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