U.S. House of Representative Speaker Vietnam Visit - Round Up

Top Vietnamese, US lawmakers wish for stronger ties
04/14/2006 -- 20:14(GMT+7)

US Ambassador Visits Recovery Site In Central Vietnam

US Ambassador to Vietnam Michael W Marine Monday begins a two-day trip to Quang Nam province and Da Nang city to visit an MIA remains recovery site from the Vietnam War, the US Embassy released.

Ambassador Marine will visit Tuesday an 84th Joint Field Activities site in Quang Nam province, where joint US and VietnamImageView_1_.jpgese teams are working to recover remains of American servicemen who died during the war.

US House Speaker to Visit Vietnam

US House speaker Dennis Hastert will visit Vietnam from 14 to 17 this month, becoming the most senior congressman to Vietnam since the two countries established diplomatic relation a decade ago.
President of the US House of Representatives Dennis Hastert will lead a delegation comprising representatives and senators to Vietnam at the invitation of Nguyen Van An, chairman of Vietnam’s unicameral legislature National Assembly.

The house agenda includes meeting with Prime Minister Phan Van Khai, chairman Nguyen Van An, and other senior officials.

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates To Visit Viet Nam

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates will visit Viet Nam in April at the invitation of Prime Minister Phan Van Khai.

His two-day visit is expected to begin on April 21, a Microsoft Viet Nam official says.

Gates is a co-founder of the world’s largest software group and ranked first on Forbes magazine’s list of the richest people in the US, with assets worth 51 billion USD.

US Could Normalize Trade ties With Vietnam Soon: Senator

The US Senate is willing to grant Permanent Normal Trade status to Vietnam before August this year, a senior member of the house has said.

Max Baucus, senator from Montana, was speaking at a presentation made by US Trade Representative Rob Portman on US Trade Policy in 2006 before the US Congress Thursday and Friday.

US Businesses Support Viet Nam's WTO Entry Bid

Washington (VNA) - US businesses have voiced their support for Viet Nam's bid to join the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

Representatives of nearly 40 US businesses spoke with Vietnamese legislators on Feb. 28 at the Vietnamese Embassy in Washington D.C. The Vietnamese National Assembly delegation, led by Deputy Chairman Nguyen Van Yeu, arrived in Washington D.C on Feb. 27.

U.S.-related Investment Tops FDI In Vietnam In 2004

PVK_business.jpgVietnam and the United States normalized trade and investment relations with the coming into effect of the U.S.-Vietnam Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) on December 10, 2001. On that day, the U.S. extended normal-trade-relations (NTR), which is more commonly known as most-favored-nations (MFN), treatment to Vietnam. This action lowered the average tariff on imports from Vietnam to the U.S.

Vietnam Cooperating In MIA Issue: US official

Gary Kurpius, Senior Vice Commander-in-Chief of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States (VFW), also said that both countries had actively cooperated for this humanitarian issue in the last few years.

"I think it has gone very well for the last few years. Vietnam has opened up a lot and given us a lot of information,” he told the Vietnam News Agency.

“Therefore, we have been getting back some bodies every year. As long as the Vietnamese continue to work with us, we will certainly continue to work with them."

More Remains of American MIAs Repatriated

DaNang_064.jpgA ceremony for the repatriation to the US of two sets of remains believed to belong to American soldiers missing in the Vietnam war was held at Da Nang International Airport on Feb. 14.

The Repatriation Ceremony was co-organised by the Detachment Two under the Joint Prisoners of War/Missing in Action (POW/MIA) Accounting Command (JPAC) and the Vietnam Office for Seeking Missing Persons (VNOSMP).

Vietnam Among US’s Major Asian Partners, Says Trade Chief

The US Trade Representative has urged his government to foster trade relations with a number of Asian nations, including Vietnam, to help consolidate US position in this region.

“(We should) deepen and strengthen US economic and trade relationships in the Asia and Pacific area,” Rob Portman said in a report, US-China Trade Policy, Tuesday.

“We must proactively engage economies like Singapore, Thailand, Korea, India, Vietnam, and Malaysia, as well as work with regional organizations like ASEAN and APEC, to help maintain a robust US economic presence in this region.”

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