Socialist Republic of Vietnam

Prime Minister Phan Van Khai Wednesday has told U.S. business circles that he believes in a brighter future for Vietnam-U.S. cooperation.

The U.S. visit and talks with President George Bush will result in enhanced cooperation between the two countries, Mr. Khai said in a meeting with representatives of the U.S. business community in Washington.

He added that future cooperation between Vietnam and the U.S. would be conducted on the basis of equality, mutual respect and benefit.

PM Khai reviewed milestones in the two countries' relationship over the past 10 years, including big business deals between businesspeople of Vietnam and the U.S.

However, he noted the scale of bilateral cooperation remained modest considering the U.S. was a powerful nation with great potential in economics, culture and science-technology and enjoyed enormous benefits in the Asia-Pacific region.

Long-term, stable cooperation

The Vietnamese leader said the aim of his visit was to send the U.S. people a strong and clear message saying: "The Vietnamese government and people want to build a friendly relationship, a constructive partnership and multi-dimensional, long-term and stable cooperation with the U.S."

"Nowadays, Vietnam is known as a potential partner and a nation successful in shifting its economy into a market one while ensuring social equality. Vietnam is also a stable and safe country with relatively high economic growth rates for many consecutive years. The country has actively integrated its economy into the world economy, and has been striving to access the World Trade Organization (WTO) as soon as possible.”

“It has played an active role in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum and the East Asia cooperation mechanism," PM Khai said.

He also noted that being well aware of major trends in the global economy, Vietnam had been actively improving its legal frameworks to create a favorable business environment for operations of both local and foreign businesses.

In this spirit, Vietnam wishes to be a friend and reliable partner to countries in the international community and Vietnamese businesses want to expand multifaceted cooperation with their U.S. partners, PM Khai said.

(Source: Vietnam News Agency)
Story from Thanh Nien News
Published: 23 June, 2005, 12:28:00 (GMT+7)
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