Vietnam would welcome Clinton visit
HANOI - US President Bill Clinton would be welcome in
Vietnam should he decide to visit the country, the foreign
ministry here said Thursday.
Clinton "has made significant efforts towards normalising
relations between the US and Vietnam and he would be
welcome should he decide to visit Vietnam," foreign
ministry spokesman Le Dung told reporters.
A bilateral trade agreement signed in July between the
two countries was an important "contribution by
President Clinton to the process of normalisation," he
added.
The spokesman noted that there were currently no plans
for Clinton to visit Vietnam. Clinton met at the UN
Millennium summit in New York on Wednesday with his
Vietnamese counterpart Tran Duc Luong, and a White
House spokesman said they had discussed the possibility
of a visit.
"The two discussed the possibility of a visit by the US
president to Vietnam but we have nothing to announce on
that topic," said White House spokesman Jake Siewert.
Clinton will travel to Asia in mid-November to participate
in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
summit in Brunei.
Agence France Presse - September 8, 2000.
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