Vietnam PM heads for Washington on historic trip
HANOI - Vietnamese Prime Minister Phan Van Khai leaves this weekend on the first trip to the United States by the communist nation's top leader since the Vietnam War ended, and will be looking to increase trade between the former enemies. Khai's trip coincides with the 10th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic ties between the two countries frozen after the end 30 years ago of "The American War," as it is known to Vietnamese.The conflict, in which more than 58,000 Americans and three million Vietnamese died, ended when Northern communists overthrew the U.S.-backed South Vietnam government.
Khai, who leaves on Saturday, will hold talks with President Bush in Washington on June 21 aimed at building long-term, stable and constructive relations, Foreign Minister Nguyen Dy Nien said. Khai will also ring the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange, an ironic gesture for the leader of an officially communist nation.
"The visit by the prime minister will create a breakthrough in the relationship of the two countries, especially in the economic and trade areas," Nien told the Saigon Giai Phong (Liberation Saigon) daily. Since restoring diplomatic links, two-way trade has rocketed from just $451 million in 1995 to $6.4 billion in 2004. Following a bilateral trade pact in 2001, the United States has emerged as Vietnam's most important commercial partner. Hanoi's Trade Ministry says it expects $6.2 billion in exports to the United States in 2005, most of it clothing, fish, shrimps, furniture and coffee. Vietnam is also expected to sign a contract to buy four Boeing 787 "Dreamliner" planes, worth around $500 million, during Khai's June 19-25 visit, officials said.
Moving on
Communist Vietnam's leaders appear keen to close the door on the past and move on. In April, celebrations marking the 30th anniversary of the end of the war were muted because of concern that a very visible show of "triumphalism" could harm crucial economic ties with the United States. Former U.S. President Bill Clinton visited Vietnam in 2000, and two years later, the U.S.S. Vandegrift, the first U.S. warship in Vietnamese waters since 1975, steamed up the Saigon River to Ho Chi Minh City -- formerly Saigon and the capital of South Vietnam. The United States is also seeking close military ties with Vietnam, but will let them evolve in the long term, instead of pushing hard, U.S. officials said earlier this month.
"The most difficult, challenging issue has been to get both sides to forget the past and move on to the future," Pete Peterson, who served as the first U.S. ambassador to Vietnam after ties were normalized, told the official Vietnam News Agency. With 82 million people and one of the fastest growing economies in southeast Asia, Vietnam is also becoming an attractive emerging market for U.S. companies. Vietnam is also hoping to enter the World Trade Organization by the end of this year. Next year it hosts theAsia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting which will be attended by Bush.
But for all the commercial bonhomie, differences remain, in particular over U.S. criticism of Vietnam's record on human rights and religious freedom, and Washington's refusal to compensate thousands of Vietnamese victims of wartime chemical weapons such as Agent Orange. Between 1962 and 1971, an estimated 20 million gallons of herbicides including Agent Orange, were used in Vietnam. Agent Orange is blamed for nightmarish birth defects such as babies born with two heads or without eyes or arms.
Reuters - June 17, 2005.
Vietnam PM to visit Canada after United States
HANOI - Vietnam's Prime Minister Phan Van Khai will visit Canada following his historical trip to the United States starting this weekend, diplomats said. The foreign ministry said Khai had been invited to the country by Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin, but would not say when he would make the trip.
However a Vietnamese diplomat speaking on condition of anonymity said Khai would go directly to Canada from the United States. He would spend five to six days there meeting senior officials, the diplomat said. Khai travels to Washington on Saturday. He is to spend a week in the United States on the first trip by a Vietnamese prime minister to the country since the end of the Vietnam War in 1975.
Agence France Presse - June 16, 2005.
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