~ Le Viêt Nam, aujourd'hui. ~
The Vietnam News

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US Secretary of State Rice to visit Vietnam this month

HANOI - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice plans to travel to Vietnam at the end of this month, preparing a visit by US President George W. Bush later in the year, the communist nation said. "In order to reinforce cooperative relations between Vietnam and the US, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice plans to visit Vietnam at the end of July," said foreign ministry spokesman Le Dung. "The two sides are actively preparing for her visit."

Vietnam's Deputy Foreign Minister Le Van Bang was Tuesday quoted as saying by the Lao Dong (Labour) newspaper that Hanoi would "welcome the US secretary of state with warmth and friendship." "It will be the first visit by Mrs Rice to Vietnam in her post as state secretary," Bang, who served as post-war Vietnam's first ambassador to the United States, told the state-controlled newspaper. "It will also be a visit made in a special year of Vietnam-US relations. It will be a visit aimed at preparing the trip by US President George W. Bush to Vietnam."

US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld visited Vietnam last month, and Bush is due to attend an Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Hanoi in November amid fast-improving ties between the two nations. Vietnam, which hopes to join the World Trade Organisation this year, in May signed a crucial market access agreement with the United States as part of its efforts to join the Geneva-based global trade club. The US Congress is expected in coming weeks to vote on granting Vietnam the permanent status of a most-favoured nation trading partner, a crucial hurdle in opening the two-way flow of goods, services and investment.

Dung did not give the dates of Rice's expected visit, and US officials in Hanoi could not immediately be reached for comment on the American Independence Day holiday. Rice is scheduled to visit Malaysia for an annual security meeting starting on July 28, the ASEAN Regional Forum of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and key partners including China, Russia and Japan.

Agence France Presse - July 4, 2006