Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05HANOI3356
2005-12-23 06:59:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Hanoi
Cable title:  

CODEL GORDON SMITH MEETS WITH PRESIDENT LUONG

Tags:  ETRD PREL OREP VM WTRO WTO APEC 
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UNCLAS HANOI 003356 

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EAP/MLS AND EB/TPP/BTA/ANA GOODMAN AND WICKMAN
STATE PASS USTR ELENA BRYAN AND GREG HICKS
USDOC FOR 4431/MAC/AP/OPB/VLC/HPPHO
TREASURY FOR OASIA

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ETRD PREL OREP VM WTRO WTO APEC
SUBJECT: CODEL GORDON SMITH MEETS WITH PRESIDENT LUONG

SENSITIVE - DO NOT POST ON INTERNET

UNCLAS HANOI 003356

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EAP/MLS AND EB/TPP/BTA/ANA GOODMAN AND WICKMAN
STATE PASS USTR ELENA BRYAN AND GREG HICKS
USDOC FOR 4431/MAC/AP/OPB/VLC/HPPHO
TREASURY FOR OASIA

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ETRD PREL OREP VM WTRO WTO APEC
SUBJECT: CODEL GORDON SMITH MEETS WITH PRESIDENT LUONG

SENSITIVE - DO NOT POST ON INTERNET


1. (SBU) Summary: A visiting U.S. Senate delegation led by
Senator Gordon Smith (R-OR) and comprised of six other
Senators held a courtesy call meeting with Vietnamese
President Tran Duc Luong on December 12. The delegation and
the President expressed their commitment to further
developing trade and commercial exchanges between the two
countries. President Luong spoke about Vietnam's interest
in increasing U.S. foreign direct investment and assured
Senator Smith that Vietnam is working hard to prepare for
the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) 2006 meetings.
Senator Smith raised U.S. concerns on trade issues and legal
protections, observing that potential WTO accession and the
required Permanent Normalized Trade Relations (PNTR) vote
mean that strong, legal and administrative reforms, and
their effective implementation, are especially critical at
this time. Smith also emphasized the importance of
political reforms in Vietnam, both to the PNTR vote and to
Vietnam's future development. End Summary.


2. (SBU) On December 12, President Tran Duc Luong and a
visiting U.S. Senate delegation led by Senator Gordon Smith
(R-OR) and comprised of Senators Trent Lott (R-MS),Robert
Bennett (R-UT),Ron Wyden (D-OR),Jim Bunning (R-KY),John
Cornyn (R-TX),and Mike Crapo (R-ID) met for forty minutes
to review bilateral relations and discuss ways to expand and
improve trade between the United States and Vietnam. U.S.
The Ambassador and several Senate staffers were also
present.


3. (SBU) President Luong began the meeting by welcoming the
delegation to Hanoi. Luong noted that this visit is another
example the growing level of trust and cooperation that
exists between the United States and Vietnam. The President
spoke briefly but frankly about past tensions, but noted
that the Bilateral Trade Agreement and senior-level visits
of U.S. officials have greatly helped to bring the two
nations closer together. Luong asserted that the United
States and Vietnam share a commitment to independence and
freedom as exemplified by Ho Chi Minh's quotation from the
Declaration of Independence in his September 2, 1945 speech.


4. (SBU) President Luong spoke warmly about his meeting with
President Bush at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation
(APEC) Leaders Meeting summit last month in Busan, Korea.
He stressed that Vietnam is working hard to prepare to host
APEC 2006. He also emphasized that U.S. investment in
Vietnam is very important as the country continues to
transition from a State-run to a market economy.


5. (SBU) Senator Smith thanked the President for his welcome
and expressed the delegation's appreciation for the support
and effort the Government of Vietnam (GVN) had provided for
the visit. Senator Smith said he shared the President's
hope that past wounds will continue to heal. The delegation
is likewise interested in seeing that bilateral trade and
cooperation continue to increase. The Senator noted that
the possibility of concluding U.S.-Vietnam WTO negotiations
next year, and the Permanent Normalized Trade Relations
(PNTR) vote in the U.S. Congress that would follow, is of
particular interest to the members of this delegation. The
way in which American businesses are treated in Vietnam, and
the legal protections provided them, are also a priority, he
said.


6. (SBU) Senator Smith also stressed the importance of
democratic reform, noting that freedom of the press, of
assembly, of religion and of speech were rights the U.S.
Constitution guarantees all citizens. Vietnam and the
United States may currently have different approaches to
governing their citizens but those basic freedoms are
important to a country's health and development, the Senator
emphasized.


7. The CODEL has cleared this cable.
MARINE