US embassy cable - 04HANOI2879

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HANOI 002879 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR EAP/BCLTV 
 
PACOM FOR FPA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, PHUM, VM, HUMANR, RELFREE, BTA 
SUBJECT:  EAP DAS Marie Huhtala's October 22 Meeting with 
Communist Party External Relations Commission's Pham Tien 
Nhien 
 
1. (SBU) Summary:  During an October 22 meeting with 
Communist Party External Affairs Commission (Western Europe 
and North America) Director Pham Tien Nhien, EAP DAS Marie 
Huhtala expressed U.S. support for Vietnam's WTO accession, 
urged Vietnam to engage in greater operational law 
enforcement cooperation with the United States, and 
underlined the need for progress in the areas of human 
rights and religious freedom in the run-up to the planned 
visit to the United States by PM Phan Van Khai.  DAS Huhtala 
also encouraged Vietnam to sign an Article 98 agreement. 
Director Nhien outlined the areas of progress in the U.S.- 
Vietnam relationship, including trade, politics and 
humanitarian and development assistance and expressed his 
party's will to continue to work to develop bilateral 
relations.  Nhien expressed optimism about the future, but 
added that both countries have to make efforts and not allow 
"incidents" to affect negatively their ties.  End Summary. 
 
2.  (SBU) Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia 
and Pacific Affairs Marie Huhtala met October 22 with Pham 
Tien Nhien, Director of the Western Europe and North America 
Department of the Communist Party's External Affairs 
Commission.  The DCM, Pol/C and Poloff also attended. 
Bilateral relations are in a healthy state, DAS Huhtala 
opened, and it is good to see progress in many areas, 
particularly in trade, thanks to the implementation of the 
Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA).  Nhien responded that the 
Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) pays a great deal of 
attention to the development of relations and agreed that 
one of the most important benchmarks thus far has been the 
implementation of the BTA.  In fact, the success of the BTA 
has caused envy among some of Vietnam's European trading 
partners, and several European leaders have urged Vietnam to 
give EU members the same treatment as the United States in 
trade relations with Vietnam.  Until now, however, no EU 
member has signed a trade agreement with Vietnam comparable 
in scope to the BTA.  The fact that the United States is now 
Vietnam's number one export market proves the effectiveness 
of the BTA in stimulating economic interaction.  Vietnam's 
goal now is to increase two-way trade with China this year 
to the level of Vietnam's trade with the United States last 
year, Nhien noted. 
 
3. (SBU) Political and other areas of the bilateral 
relationship have also developed, Nhien continued.  For 
example, the Secretary of Defense (Secretary Cohen) and the 
Minister of Defense exchanged visits, and two U.S. Navy 
ships called on ports in Vietnam.  Deputy Prime Minister Vu 
Khoan visited the United States last year, and both sides 
have expressed their support for continuing to exchange high- 
level visitors to help to prepare for Prime Minister Phan 
Van Khai's visit to the United States in 2005, the details 
of which have yet to be decided.  In 2006, Vietnam looks 
forward to hosting a visit by the President to coincide with 
the APEC Summit in Hanoi.  Naturally, both sides cannot 
expect high-level visitors to be able to resolve all the 
issues in the bilateral relationship, but they can 
contribute to efforts to find a solution, and Vietnam 
believes these visits are important, Nhien said. 
 
4. (SBU) The development of bilateral relations in 
education, health, and science and technology are also 
significant.  Vietnam especially appreciates the support of 
private and public organizations in the United States in 
funding the studies of Vietnamese students and young people, 
Nhien continued.  Furthermore, an increasing number of 
Vietnamese are able to fund their study programs in the 
United States on their own.  Educational exchanges help to 
lay a firm foundation for the future, as young people from 
Vietnam help their American friends to understand more about 
Vietnam, and returnees from studies in the United States can 
help their Vietnamese family and friends to understand more 
about America.  Education provides a direct benefit to 
mutual understanding.  Vietnam is also grateful to the USG 
for its HIV/AIDS care and prevention assistance, Nhien said. 
 
5. (SBU) To continue to promote relations requires the 
efforts of both the United States and Vietnam, and both 
sides should work to not allow "incidents" to affect 
bilateral ties, Nhien concluded. 
 
6. (SBU) Thanking Director Nhien for his comprehensive 
survey of relations, DAS Huhtala observed that European envy 
of the BTA reflects how strong and effective that agreement 
is.  The EU members are aware, however, that the BTA 
negotiations adhered to WTO's goals to ensure that, when 
Vietnam becomes a member of that organization, there will be 
a better playing field for all of Vietnam's trading 
partners.  The USG supports Vietnam's WTO accession, and we 
will continue our WTO-related discussions next week in 
Washington.  The United States will seek terms of accession 
that comply with all of the requirements and criteria of the 
WTO because they ensure fair and free trade around the 
world.  Of course, as in any developing relationship, we 
will have trade problems, but, as with our other trade 
partners, we will resolve them one by one.  In the case of 
Vietnam-U.S. trade relations, one significant issue is that 
of the protection of intellectual property rights, which is 
essential for attracting and protecting investors in 
Vietnam, DAS Huhtala stressed. 
 
7. (SBU) Another important goal for the United States and 
Vietnam is increasing law enforcement cooperation.  The 
United States seeks operational cooperation on the ground, 
DAS Huhtala said, and we hope that we can develop further 
our relationship in this area to confront the various 
challenges we share with Vietnam, such as narcotics and 
terrorism. 
 
8. (SBU) The year 2005 will mark the tenth anniversary of 
bilateral relations, and the United States and Vietnam are 
discussing the possibility of many different activities, 
including a visit by PM Khai to the United States, DAS 
Huhtala continued.  However, in order for such a visit to be 
as successful as possible, we need to see greater progress 
in the areas of human rights and religious freedom because 
they are issues of great importance to the American people 
and the Congress.  The USG also hopes to sign a number of 
agreements, including an Article 98 agreement.  In the 
future, there will be many specific areas requiring 
bilateral discussion, but we have made impressive progress 
over the past nine years and look forward to continued 
progress, DAS Huhtala said. 
 
9. (SBU) Officials in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and 
the Department of State will discuss thoroughly the details 
of PM Khai's visit, Nhien said.  The CPV, GVN and people of 
Vietnam are strongly in favor of enhancing the relationship 
between the United States and Vietnam.  However, Vietnam is 
not used to having preconditions for what will be a 
successful visit by any person at any level, Nhien noted. 
DAS Huhtala replied that, by raising the issues of religious 
freedom and human rights, we are not trying to set a 
precondition but instead are underlining the importance with 
which the American people view these issues. 
 
10. (SBU) For its part, the CPV will do its utmost to 
develop bilateral relations in a positive way, Nhien 
continued.  Politicians and political agencies have to "hear 
the voices and demands" of the people, and the Vietnamese 
people have their own "demands" of the United States. 
However, "we are optimists," and, in spite of the "burden of 
history" shared by the United States and Vietnam, the two 
sides have reached a "level of positive development." 
Vietnam looks forward to an even brighter future for the 
relationship, Nhien concluded. 
 
11. (U) DAS Huhtala cleared this message.