The United States and Vietnam have shown determination in accelerating bilateral negotiations about Vietnam's entry to the World Trade Organization (WTO) this year, a visiting U.S. official said here Friday.

A U.S. delegation to be led by two assistants to the U.S. Trade Representative will come to Vietnam for further WTO negotiations next week, Christopher Hill, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, said at a press briefing, noting that "it's very important to start (negotiations) early in the year."

With efforts of both sides, the U.S. and Vietnam will reach conclusion on their bilateral negotiation soon, so that "by the end of the year (2006), we can welcome Vietnam's accession to the WTO," he said.

On Thursday, spokesman of the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry Le Dung said the fact that the U.S. delegation to be headed by the two assistants will conduct the 10th round of bilateral negotiations on Jan. 16-18 after nearly four months of discontinuity is "a good sign for many good agreements to be reached."

He said differences still remain on the negotiation table, but "mainly in the fields of goods, services, banking, and posts and telecommunications."

Source: Xinhua