3:26:38 PM | 7/8/2005
The US provides strong and firm support to Vietnam's bid to join the World Trade Organization (WTO), confirmed US Deputy Secretary of Sate Robert B. Zoellick at a press briefing in Hanoi on Friday.
Vietnamese and US negotiators will soon meet to conduct bilateral talks over services, goods and insurance, said the diplomat. It will be a big job, but the US pledges to speed up progress as quickly as possible, he added.
The No.2 figure of the US State Department revealed that he had discussed the detail of the issue with Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan and Minister of Planning and Investment Vo Hong Phuc during their talks earlier.
Multilateral negotiations are set for later this month in Geneva. Vietnam also has to strike bilateral agreements with other WTO members including Japan and China.
"The multilateral effort requires coming into compliance with the basic WTO rules, which for Vietnam will require changes to some related legal documents," he said, adding that Vietnam needs to amend and reform 89 legal documents.
The official affirmed that WTO accession would boost Vietnam’s economic reforms as it helps facilitate investment and business. Adequate infrastructure would be established to help promote the economy if Vietnam liberated the services sector, he said.
"Vietnam has done a tremendous amount of work in a very short time," he said, but "it cannot rest because as part of the global economy, it is competing with other countries."
Also at the press briefing, Mr. Zoellick announced that he had sent US President George W. Bush’s invitation to Vietnam’s Prime Minister Phan Van Khai to visit the US on June 21.
Apart from President Bush, Khai will also meet other US government officials like the state secretary, the diplomat said. The US will work with Vietnam to plan a working schedule for Khai’s visit.
“It is a special opportunity,” as the two countries will mark the 10th anniversary of normalization of relations in July, he said.
Regarding the relations between the US and Vietnam, the deputy secretary said that the ties saw a big increase in all aspects, including economy, politics, culture and education in the past three years.
"The two countries have established a firm foundation on which to build stronger bilateral ties and also broader relations," he said, hoping "the relationship will continue to progress at a fast pace."
He, however, was reluctant to answer questions about religious affairs in Vietnam.
Vietnam is still on the US list of Countries of Particular Concern but it is the first which has gained positive agreements with the US on the matter, the diplomat revealed. The US is considering whether to remove Vietnam from the list, he added.
Mr. Zoellick arrived in Vietnam on May 5 for a two-day visit to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries.
During his first trip to Vietnam as a US deputy secretary of state, the guest met Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan and Minister of Planning and Investment Vo Hong Phuc. He visited the Bach Mai Hospital in Hanoi and exchanged opinions with relevant agencies on the Vietnam-US cooperation program on HIV/AIDS fighting.
He also went to Ho Chi Minh City to meet the municipal authorities and attend a ceremony to grant a license to the US's Lemna group's US$36 million project on solid waste recycling. He met with Vietnamese and foreign businessmen at a round-table seminar on the city's economic development, State management, property rights and financial reforms.
T.V
Vietnamese
