U.S. president to visit Vietnam next week

U.S. President George Bush will make an official visit to Vietnam from Nov. 17-20 to strengthen the bilateral relations, Vietnam News Agency reported Sunday.

The trip, to be made at the invitation of Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet, will be the second official visit to Vietnam by U.S. top leaders after the first by President Bill Clinton in 2000.

Bush is expected to meet with Vietnamese top leaders to discuss measures to strengthen the bilateral ties and issues of mutual concern. He will also attend the 14th APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) Economic Leaders' Meeting slated for Nov. 18-19 in Hanoi.

U.S Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told the agency in a recent review that "the president is very much looking forward to his visit to Vietnam, as am I, because Vietnam is a country that's going through tremendous change. Our economic relationship is moving forward. We continue our dialogue about the process of democratization and human rights. It's becoming a very broad relationship."

Vietnam can be "a very important partner for the United States and a very important partner in Asia" for her country, Rice stated.

Since the establishment of their diplomatic ties in July 1995, Vietnam and the United States have exchanged high-level visits, including Prime Minister Phan Van Khai's official trip to the United States in June 2005, which paved the way for a framework of constructive, friendly, multi-faceted, stable and long-term partnership between the two countries, said the agency.

Economic and trade relations between Vietnam and the United States have been developing with positive signs. Since the enactment of the Bilateral Trade Agreement, two-way trade soared to 7.8 billion U.S. dollars in 2005 from 1.5 billion dollars in 2001.

Positive developments were also noticed in the two countries' military ties, with the exchange of visits of senior officers to promote mutual understanding. Since 2003, U.S. naval ships have docked at Vietnamese ports annually as part of activities within bilateral cooperation framework.

Vietnam and the United States have also expanded their cooperation into many other spheres, including healthcare, especially in the fight against HIV/AIDS and bird flu, settlement of issues left by the Vietnam War, and counter-terrorism cooperation.

Source: Xinhua