First U.S. ambassador to Vietnam says prime minister's meeting with Bush key to WTO bid
The United States' first postwar ambassador to Vietnam said Friday that the communist country's bid to enter the World Trade Organization this year depends heavily on the outcome of the prime minister's historic visit to Washington later this month.
Former Ambassador Pete Peterson said Prime Minister Phan Van Khai will not only be meeting U.S. President George W. Bush for the first time on June 21, but he will also be selling himself _ and his country _ to the American public when he becomes the highest-ranking Vietnamese leader to visit Washington since the Vietnam War.
"The success of this visit will foretell what the future is going to be between the relationship and the two countries," Peterson said. "I think it's very, very critical."
Peterson spent six and a half years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam after being shot down in 1966 during his 67th bombing raid over the former North Vietnam. He later served as U.S. ambassador in Hanoi from 1997-2001.
Peterson, speaking to reporters after a U.S. business luncheon in Hanoi, said it is crucial for Washington to endorse Vietnam's bid to join the WTO if the country hopes to accede by year's end.
"I think without it, they don't have a prayer," he said. "If the U.S. president decides that this is in the best interest of the United States and he has good chemistry with Prime Minister Khai, it could very well be the key that opens that door and they find a way to get it done."
Before Vietnam can join the WTO, it must conclude bilateral agreements with all members and also reform its legal and economic codes to meet the group's requirements.
So far, Vietnam has reached deals with a handful of countries, including the 25-member European Union, and is in the process of changing some of its laws.
Peterson said he fears Vietnam's human rights record will be a factor in whether the former foes reach a WTO agreement. Last year, the U.S. State Department listed Vietnam as one of the world's most repressive countries for religious freedom. Vietnam has since promised to show more tolerance.
"All I can say is look at Vietnam in the same eye as you look at Saudi Arabia," Peterson said. "Are our relations predicted on what they're doing on human rights, and particularly women's rights? I don't think so. You've got to look at this thing from the standpoint of how (Vietnam is) making efforts to clean up the old policy."
Peterson said the issue of Agent Orange also will likely be discussed in Washington, and that he hopes more scientific research will be devoted to the defoliant sprayed by U.S. aircraft during the war to destroy Vietnamese troops' jungle cover.
Washington insists there is not enough scientific evidence to link Agent Orange to health problems.
Peterson said Bush and Khai will also likely touch on other issues, such as strengthening military ties as China becomes more dominant.
The visit comes as Vietnam and the United States mark 10 years since they normalized diplomatic ties, and 30 years since the war's end on April 30, 1975.
"This relationship has matured. We're past the symbolism," he said. "We're into real meat and potatoes, and we have the opportunity to deal with very, very serious and complex issues and we can find solutions, and that's what his mission is going to be all about."
The Associated Press - June 03, 2005.
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