US embassy cable - 05HANOI2546

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 HANOI 002546 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT PASS TO EAP/MLS; EAP/RSP; EAP/EP; DRL 
 
STATE PASS TO USTR ELENA BRYAN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON, ETRD, EINV, PREL, PHUM, KIRF, PGOV, AMGT, ABLD, VM, WTO, RELFREE, HUMANR, HIV/AIDS, AFLU, APEC, TIP 
SUBJECT: EAP Deputy Assistant Secretary Eric John's Meeting 
with Foreign Minister Nguyen Zy Nien 
 
1. (SBU) Summary:  EAP Deputy Assistant Secretary Eric John 
discussed bilateral relations and regional cooperation with 
Foreign Minister Nguyen Zy Nien on September 27.  After 
emphasizing the value of senior-level visits and exchanges 
and asking DAS John to help encourage more of them, FM Nien 
requested that the United States help Vietnam enter the 
World Trade Organization (WTO) quickly by reducing its 
demands in the negotiating process.  He offered support for 
U.S. efforts to secure a new location for the U.S. Embassy 
and pledged to continue improving cooperation on religious 
freedom and human rights in Vietnam.  End Summary. 
 
THE IMPORTANCE OF PERSON-TO-PERSON DIPLOMACY 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
2. (SBU) EAP Deputy Assistant Secretary Eric John, who was 
joined by the Ambassador, EAP Mainland Southeast Asia 
Director Scot Marciel and EconOff, met with Foreign Minister 
Nguyen Zy Nien on September 27, the second in a series of 
meetings on the U.S.-Vietnam bilateral relationship and 
cooperation on regional issues.  Having been briefed by 
Assistant Foreign Minister Nguyen Duc Hung, who had just 
concluded his own exchange with DAS John (septel), FM Nien 
began the meeting by reviewing the results of his recent 
trip to New York to participate in the annual meeting of the 
United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), expressing his 
appreciation for the opportunity to speak with Secretary 
Rice (as part of a larger meeting with ASEAN Foreign 
Ministers).  He noted that he had personally invited 
Secretary Rice to Hanoi for the 2006 APEC Leaders' Meeting. 
 
SIPDIS 
High-level visits are extremely important to developing the 
bilateral relationship, Nien added, citing Prime Minister 
Phan Van Khai's June visit to the United States as an 
example of how much these exchanges can accomplish.  The 
Foreign Minister asked DAS John to help increase the number 
and frequency of these senior-level exchanges and visits, 
emphasizing how very important they are to developing a 
mutual understanding.  DAS John agreed with these 
observations, and added that creating a stronger business 
environment and investment climate will also increase 
opportunities for public diplomacy efforts, in addition to 
improving the overall trade flow. 
 
3. (SBU) FM Nien also mentioned another kind of person-to- 
person diplomacy:  the interactions and trade taking place 
between Vietnamese-Americans and the Vietnamese people 
living in Vietnam.  He cited his recent visit to the home of 
a Vietnamese-American family in Long Beach (on Long Island, 
NY) that frequently travels back and forth to Vietnam on 
business as one example of how much the younger generations 
of Vietnamese people on both sides of the Pacific have 
become more comfortable with each other, bringing business 
and cultural opportunities to the United States and to 
Vietnam through their exchanges. 
 
AVIAN INFLUENZA AND HIV/AIDS 
---------------------------- 
 
4. (SBU) Senior-level visits, FM Nien added, also help the 
Unites States and Vietnam cooperate on health issues such as 
HIV/AIDS and avian influenza.  The latter problem, he said, 
is something Vietnam continues to try to control, but bird 
migrations make it difficult to do so.  He noted that 
President Bush's remarks on the importance of the 
International Partnership on Avian and Pandemic Influenza 
(IPAPI) were well received at the UNGA. 
 
WTO 
--- 
 
5. (SBU) The Foreign Minister then turned to the issue of 
Vietnam's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO). 
"The United States is the most important country left [that 
has not given its approval]," he opined.  He added that "if 
the United States says it is ok, then all [the remaining 
countries] will say it is ok."  He concluded by saying that 
he hopes the United States will reduce the number of demands 
it is still making in the negotiating rounds since it would 
be better if Vietnam could accede to the WTO by December. 
DAS John replied that Vietnam's WTO accession will take 
place more quickly if Vietnam improves the quality of its 
offer.  A better trade picture, he added, benefits both the 
United States and Vietnam, as the results of our Bilateral 
Trade Agreement demonstrate. 
 
APEC 
---- 
 
6. (SBU) Referring to Vietnam's designation as the host of 
the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) 2006, FM Nien 
shared that Vietnam is already working on security issues to 
prepare for senior-level visitors, especially President 
Bush.  DAS John replied that APEC is an excellent 
opportunity for Vietnam to showcase its strengths and to 
establish new bilateral opportunities for businesses and 
investors.  He added that U.S. Senior Official for APEC and 
EAP/FO Economic Coordinator Mike Michalak will be visiting 
Hanoi in early October to further discuss APEC 2006 with 
Vietnamese officials. 
 
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM, TRAFFICKING, AND HUMAN RIGHTS 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
7. (SBU) FM Nien voiced his regret over the fact that 
Vietnam is still listed as a Country of Particular Concern 
(CPC) for religious freedom.  Hopefully, the CPC list will 
not stand in the way of a better understanding of human 
rights in Vietnam.  He cited his own family's strong 
Buddhist beliefs and his experiences in visiting Catholic 
communities, and stressed that he understands well that 
religion is a beneficial element in social development. 
Local problems that result from a miscommunication with 
provincial and district authorities are few and far between, 
he argued, and added that religious groups actually support 
- not threaten - the autonomy and authority of local 
officials.  DAS John replied that the United States does not 
want Vietnam to be on the CPC list either, but that there 
are still some improvements that need to take place, 
especially in the implementation of laws protecting 
religious freedom, before Vietnam can be removed from it. 
Recognizing that implementation at the local level is 
difficult, DAS John noted that increased education and 
training for those officials might improve their 
understanding of how to properly protect religious freedoms. 
Vietnam's improvements in countering drug trafficking is a 
model to follow, since those efforts resulted in Vietnam's 
removal from the Majors' List.  FM Nien agreed that this was 
a positive step forward and that Vietnam would continue to 
do its best in these areas. 
 
8. (SBU) In response to DAS John's comment that the United 
States hopes to resume its results-based Human Rights 
Dialogue with Vietnam once our Assistant Secretary for 
Democracy, Human Rights and Labor is in office, FM Nien 
thanked DAS John and observed that cooperation on this issue 
and others from the Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of 
National Defense and Vietnamese military is critical, since 
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would otherwise be left 
isolated in its efforts to expand the overall bilateral 
relationship. 
 
NEW EMBASSY 
----------- 
 
9. (SBU) FM Nien expressed appreciation for the Mission's 
hard work in establishing a new location for the U.S. 
Embassy, noting that the agreed minute of the July talks is 
complete and that only a few formalities remain, formalities 
which should be taken care of before the end of the week. 
He explained that Vietnam wants to have good relations with 
big powers like the United States and China, and thus 
supports our request for a more appropriate home for our 
operations. 
 
10. (SBU) DAS John cleared this cable. 
 
MARINE