AMBASSADOR MEETS WITH NEW GVN OFFICE OF THE GOVERNMENT VICE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HANOI 002045 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/MLS, DEPARTMENT PASS TO PEACE CORPS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PHUM ETRD EINV ECON AMGT KNNP EAID VM SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR MEETS WITH NEW GVN OFFICE OF THE GOVERNMENT VICE MINISTER ¶1. (SBU) Summary: On August 7, the Ambassador met with Office of the Government Vice Chairman Nguyen Xuan Phuc, the new number two official in the Prime Minister's office. During the broad-ranging conversation, the Ambassador pressed for: quick resolution of the proposed Boeing, Liberty Mutual and SSA Marine commercial deals in time for the President's November visit; GVN willingness to sign a country agreement establishing a Peace Corps program with at least 30 volunteers (vice ten); and Vietnamese agreement to a nuclear fuel exchange at the Dalat experimental reactor. The Ambassador also pressed for GVN agreement to quickly finalize details for acquisition of property in Hanoi for a new embassy compound (NEC). Finally, the Ambassador briefed Phuc on plans for the continuation of the very successful USAID "STAR" project to assist Vietnam's legal reforms in line with its WTO accession agreements. In response, the Vice Chairman: assured the Ambassador that the Prime Minister's office will look positively and quickly at the proposed commercial deals; will look at the request for a country agreement on the Peace Corps and for a larger program; will examine our interest in a quick resolution to the Dalat reactor fuel issue; will support our request to finalize the NEC deal; and, will instruct the Government to present a STAR II proposal in the near future. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) On August 7, the Ambassador met with Office of the Government (OOG) Standing Vice Chairman Nguyen Xuan Phuc. Although the Ambassador had met Vice Chairman Phuc before in his previous incarnation as Quang Nam People's Committee Chairman, this was the Ambassador's first meeting with Phuc in his new position. Commercial Deals -------------- ¶3. (SBU) The Ambassador noted that the President's upcoming visit in November will be a good chance to showcase the strength of our bilateral commercial relationship through the GVN's conclusion of several important trade deals with U.S. firms. These include the proposed acquisition of additional Boeing aircraft by Vietnam Airlines, the issuance of an insurance license to Liberty Mutual, the granting of final clearances to allow SSA Marine to undertake its proposed developments at the Cai Mep and Cai Lan ports and a proposed power project with AES, as well as a proposed Gannon power project in Dong Nai Province. The Ambassador also noted that U.S. firms are increasingly concerned about the sanctity of contracts under Vietnamese Law, as many U.S. investors report that it is difficult to get their Vietnamese partners to stick to their agreed contracts. ¶4. (SBU) Phuc noted that the GVN is "trying hard on investment and business" and the GVN will work on the proposed purchase of ten new Boeing aircraft, the issuance of the insurance license and the power projects "in the most positive manner" before the President's visit. Many localities in Vietnam are calling for foreign investment, but such investment "must develop according to the law." In the case of Cai Mep port and the power projects, "we will push on our side, but you need to push on yours," Phuc said. Peace Corps -------------- ¶5. (SBU) The Ambassador also noted that another possible success story that could potentially be highlighted during the President's visit is the signing of a country agreement to establish a Peace Corps program in Vietnam. The Peace Corps has been welcomed in principle in discussions with GVN ministries, but the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) has proposed that it be the sole counterpart of the proposed country agreement. This is not practical, as the Peace Corps works in a variety of areas including health, environment or education. Instead, the agreement should be with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) or the Office of the Government -- bodies which are more general in scope. In addition, we have disagreed to date on the initial number of volunteers. Because of the administrative and logistic investment required -- normally USD one million dollars -- the smallest Peace Corps programs begin with 30 volunteers. In the case of Vietnam, we would hope that these volunteers would serve in a number of Vietnam's provinces. However, the GVN will only agree to an initial ten volunteers limited to serve in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. It is hard to justify opening a program with just ten volunteers, the Ambassador noted. ¶6. (SBU) Phuc promised to ask the PM to reply to our concerns about the Peace Corps program as soon as possible and to address these concerns in time for an announcement in conjunction with the President's visit. The OOG will ask the MFA to report their opinions to the PM on the issues of the program's scope, number of volunteers and appropriate level of country agreement. Dalat Reactor -------------- HANOI 00002045 002 OF 002 ¶7. (SBU) The Ambassador noted that the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) have held technical discussions related to nuclear nonproliferation and, among several proposed activities, the swapping of high-enriched uranium fuel for low-enriched uranium fuel at the Dalat Nuclear Research Reactor, at no cost to Vietnam, under the Russian Research Reactor Fuel Return (RRRFR) program. The proposal has the blessing of the MOST, the Vietnam Atomic Energy Commission and the Dalat Nuclear Research Reactor, but is waiting for the OOG's approval. On May 5, the Embassy delivered to the MFA draft copies of a bilateral government-to-government agreement on nuclear nonproliferation and a department-to-ministry level agreement. The GVN's remaining concerns over signing this agreement seem to be purely technical, the Ambassador added. The GVN should push "the technical people" to accept the deal in time for the President's visit. ¶8. (SBU) Phuc noted that the GVN shares our views on nonproliferation and promised to repeat our concerns about the Dalat reactor to the relevant technical ministries. The GVN will never allow nuclear materials to fall in the hands of terrorists, he added. STAR II -------------- ¶9. (SBU) The Ambassador underscored that we look forward to working with the OOG and with OOG Vice Chairman Nguyen Quoc Huy on the follow-on STAR II project. The original STAR project, coordinated by the OOG, was instrumental in helping Vietnam implement the Bilateral Trade Agreement and in assisting Vietnam in completing a number of steps necessary to join the World Trade Organization. STAR II should be equally helpful to assist in many of the implementing steps after WTO accession and in developing the human resource capacity of the government to manage Vietnam's growing economy, the Ambassador added. ¶10. (SBU) Phuc stated that the OOG will task the relevant ministries to prepare a proposal for STAR II soon. The GVN considers technical assistance on post-WTO accession very important for Vietnam's future success. New Embassy -------------- ¶11. (SBU) The Ambassador noted that we have been working with the GVN to address our need for a new U.S. Embassy for over ten years. The GVN also needs a new facility in Washington. We have now found the right piece of land for our new facility, and the Ambassador's recent meeting with the Hanoi People's Committee (HPC) Chairman set the stage for a deal. The main issues remaining are the length of lease and an agreement on price and terms of payment. If these issues can be resolved, the resulting deal will pave the way for the United States to build an embassy that adequately reflects the improved state of the bilateral relationship, he stressed. ¶12. (SBU) Phuc said that the GVN sees no legal impediment to resolving the two remaining issues and fully supports our desire to conclude this deal soon. He promised that the OOG will push the HPC to report to the PM on the quick resolution of these remaining issues. Comment -------------- ¶13. (SBU) Just as the OOG was a key player in the run-up to the Prime Minister's visit last year, the OOG and Vice Chairman Phuc will be well placed to advance issues of interest to us that have gotten stuck in bureaucratic tangles or are held up because of turf battles -- especially in the run-up to the President's visit. While it remains to be seen if Phuc can translate his "can-do" attitude into results, we hope that his influence can help resolve a number of important and thorny issues over the next several months. End Comment. MARINE