CPV GENERAL SECRETARY STOKES FRATERNAL TIES HALF A WORLD

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HANOI 001062 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/MLS AND WHA/CCA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL SOCI ETRD EPET ETTC VM CU VE SUBJECT: CPV GENERAL SECRETARY STOKES FRATERNAL TIES HALF A WORLD AWAY HANOI 00001062 001.2 OF 002 A) Hanoi 984; B) State 65523 Summary -------------- ¶1. (SBU) Vietnam's State-run press has characterized Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) General Secretary Nong Duc Manh's official visits to Venezuela and Cuba from May 30 to June 1 and June 1 to June 3, respectively, as "successes" that have enhanced Vietnam's "solidarity, friendship and traditional relations" with these two countries. Manh used his Latin America trip, which included stops in Chile and Brazil as well, to lobby for support of Vietnam's bid for a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council and recognition of its "market economy" status. Contacts have told us that the 14-member Politburo had decided "months ago" on the countries Manh would visit and claimed that the timing of Manh's Latin America visit -- less than a month before President Triet's own visit to the United States -- was driven by two central factors: 1) the reelection of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and 2) Cuban President Fidel Castro's health. Manh's dwindling set of counterparts around the world limits where he can be "warmly welcomed," and he and the Party clearly remain committed to maintaining solid (if largely symbolic) relations -- and regular high-level exchanges -- with their ideological soul-mates in Venezuela and Cuba. End Summary. Breaking Bread With Chavez -------------- ¶2. (SBU) After official visits to Chile and Brazil from May 25-29, Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) General Secretary (GS) Nong Duc Manh paid an official three-day visit to Venezuela. The visit -- Manh's first to the South American country -- reciprocated President Hugo Chavez's official visit to Vietnam last year. Deputy Prime Minister and Politburo member Nguyen Sinh Hung, CPV External Relations Commission Head Nguyen Van Son and ministers and vice ministers from the Ministries of Culture and Information, Industry, Science and Technology, Planning and Investment, Trade and Foreign Affairs, accompanied Manh on this trip. Manh and his delegation held court with President Hugo Chavez, Parliament Chairwoman Cilia Flores and Head of the Board of Leaders of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela Hoochie Rodriguez. ¶3. (SBU) The Joint Statement signed by President Chavez and GS Manh highlighted the two countries' determination to build and develop a "comprehensive partnership" and promote further high-level exchanges. President Chavez offered his country's continued support for Vietnam's "socialist-oriented market economy" and bid to gain a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council (UNSC) for the 2008-2009 term. In covering the event, Vietnam's State-controlled press drew attention to Manh's statement of gratitude for the Venezuelan people's support of Vietnam's past fight for national independence and reunification, as well as its current economic development efforts. State television carried Manh saying Vietnam stands "united with the Venezuelan people in protecting Venezuela's independence and sovereignty" and in building "peace and democracy." ¶4. (SBU) The two sides signed a number of bilateral agreements to promote trade in seafood, automobiles, motorcycles, agricultural machinery, electronics and consumer goods. They also pledged to work together to explore for crude oil reserves off the coast of Venezuela, construct an oil refinery in Vietnam and transport crude oil and gas. They signed agreements on science and technology cooperation, tourism and the establishment of a joint venture between Vinamotor (Vietnam's State-owned automotive corporation) and Venezuela's Veninsa. A Communist Party -------------- ¶5. (SBU) The last stop on Manh's Latin American tour was Cuba, where he held talks with President Fidel Castro, Vice President Raul Castro, Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque and Secretary of the Council of Ministers Carlos Lage. TV coverage of GS Manh's warm and lengthy embrace with Fidel Castro also led the evening news here. In the Joint Statement issued at the conclusion of Manh's June 1-3 visit, the two sides expressed support for each others' "independence and self-determination." Manh stressed that Vietnam stands "firm" with Cuba in its struggle to lift the U.S. embargo, win the release of five Cubans from U.S. custody and bring to trial Luis Posada Carriles. Raul Castro expressed Cuba's support for Vietnam's bid for a non-permanent UNSC seat. ¶6. (SBU) The two sides also committed to increasing bilateral HANOI 00001062 002.2 OF 002 exchanges of Party and State officials, advancing security and diplomatic cooperation and expanding cooperation in the energy, biotechnology and agriculture sectors, according to the Joint Statement. Manh and Raul Castro also witnessed the signing of eight agreements on finance, sports, television, oil exploration, a cultural cooperation protocol, an archives cooperation plan and rice cultivation in Cuba. Why now? -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Officials at the Communist Party's External Relations Commission and the National Assembly told us that the 14-member Politburo had decided months ago which senior GVN leaders would go where: Manh to Latin America; President Nguyen Minh Triet to China and the United States; Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dzung to Europe and Japan; and, National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Phu Trong to Laos, Cambodia and Thailand. The officials claimed that the timing of Manh's Latin American trip was driven by two key factors: 1) the reelection of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and 2) Cuban President Fidel Castro's health. Once these situations were clear, the GVN started in earnest to firm up arrangements, they said. Comment -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Vietnam has diversified its relations with the rest of the world over the past decade, and high-level visit diplomacy is a regular task of the Prime Minister and President. General Secretary Manh, as the Politburo's most senior member, also needs to be seen as a statesman. However, unlike in China, the Vietnamese Communist Party head has no parallel government position, and the General Secretary faces a dwindling pool of true counterparts to visit. SIPDIS Caracas and Havana are two places which will accord him full pomp and circumstance, and that factored into the decision to travel there. The irony of General Secretary Manh literally embracing two dictators leading troubled regimes is not lost on all here, but to most Vietnamese the entire trip was a non-event: just another five-minute segment of the nightly news showing much kissing of cheeks and many children waving flags. MARINE