A/DCM'S MEETING WITH MOFA VFM PHUNG ON WTO AND APEC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HANOI 000601 SIPDIS SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/MLS STATE PASS USTR FOR BWEISEL and GHICKS USDOC FOR 4431/MAC/AP/OPB/VLC/HPPHO TREASURY FOR OASIA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON APEC ETRD WTRO VM SUBJECT: A/DCM'S MEETING WITH MOFA VFM PHUNG ON WTO AND APEC Sensitive -- Do not post on the internet ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Acting DCM Greg Stanford, accompanied by ECON/C and Econoff, met March 14 with Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) Vice Foreign Minister Le Cong Phung at his request to discuss WTO negotiations. Phung said senior Government of Vietnam (GVN) officials heard informally during a recent Washington visit that the United States sees our bilateral WTO negotiations progressing as follows: final negotiations and closing during the March 24-25 Geneva talks, an informal signing this April in Washington between a U.S. official and Ministerial-level GVN official, followed by a formal signing in June when the U.S. Trade Representative and GVN Trade Minister would be in Ho Chi Minh City for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Trade Ministerial. Phung sought confirmation of this proposal and initially suggested the GVN might accommodate any version of this scenario (though, he later expressed concern that a June signing might not permit the U.S. Congress enough time to consider a PNTR vote before summer recess). Stanford promised to query Washington for clarification and then pressed Phung, who is the APEC Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) Chair, on three concerns relating to the Leaders' Meeting and our 2006 APEC agenda: a clarified visa process in advance of SOM 2, more specific guidelines on hotel allocations and enhanced support for U.S. priorities and proposals on the APEC agenda. End Summary. WTO --- ¶2. (SBU) Phung observed that while WTO progress to date has been satisfactory, the GVN remains eager to close bilateral negotiations as soon as possible. He asked for clarification of what the United States envisioned as the next steps in the process, adding that recent GVN conversations with U.S. officials in Washington suggested the U.S. preferred to conclude at the upcoming March 24-25 bilateral meeting in Geneva, conduct an informal signing this April in Washington between a U.S. official and a Ministerial-level GVN official in the capacity of a special emissary from the Prime Minister, and finish with a formal signing on the margins of the APEC Trade Ministerial in June between USTR Portman and Trade Minister Truong Dinh Tuyen. When pressed on what scenario the GVN preferred, Phung admitted that they liked any plan that involved closing as soon as possible and did not see the need to have both an informal and formal signing. Phung also noted that the Tenth Party Congress planned for sometime in April would not impede an April signing. He did, however, express concern that waiting until June to formalize the agreement might not allow sufficient time for the U.S. Congress to consider a PNTR vote before the end of the summer session. ¶3. (SBU) Stanford replied that while Mission Vietnam was not aware of such a proposal, he would seek clarification from Washington. He added that the U.S. side was very pleased with the progress made in the January negotiating round and hoped the March talks would produce similar results. APEC -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Turning to APEC concerns, Stanford asked Phung what the GVN planned to do to clarify and resolve the visa situation for subsequent APEC events. Phung admitted that there had been some confusion and problems with distributing the visa policy to GVN embassies, but that in the next few weeks MOFA would issue formal guidance and all APEC delegates would receive the same type of visa, number of entries and length of validity. ¶5. (SBU) Stanford also asked Phung if the customary USG practice of providing host economies passenger manifests for travelers on White House airplanes in lieu of individual visa requests would satisfy GVN immigration and customs requirements. Phung said he would look into it and get back to us. ¶6. (SBU) Phung did confirm that "D" or tourist category visas would likely be revoked during busy times of the year, such as the upcoming 10th Party Congress meetings in Hanoi, and certainly at the November APEC Leaders' Meeting. He HANOI 00000601 002 OF 002 emphasized that coordination between the GVN and United States would be essential to ensure all official USG travelers who needed to enter Vietnam during these periods could do so. ¶7. (SBU) When Stanford raised the question of hotel space and the U.S. need for approximately 950-1000 rooms (of which only 400-450 have been assigned to us so far),Phung replied that the MOFA Protocol Department is in charge of this part of the Leaders' Meeting and would soon convene a meeting to clarify what remaining rooms might be available. ¶8. (SBU) Stanford concluded the meeting by asking Phung for the GVN's "enhanced support" of U.S. initiatives and proposals in APEC this year. Phung replied that he was open to proposals from all economies and that he relied on his colleagues from the different economies "to settle their differences." MARINE