Socialist Republic of Vietnam

Washington, Dec. 11 (VNA) - Ton Nu Thi Ninh, Vice Chairwoman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Viet Nam National Assembly, has met with the press in Washington during her current working visit to eight States and 12 cities in the US.

She told the media that her visit took place at a significant time. The US presidential and parliamentary elections have taken place and Viet Nam is ready to mark the 30th anniversary of the end of the war, leading to national reunification (April 30), and the 10th anniversary of the normalisation of Viet Nam-US diplomatic ties (July 11), next year.

Answering questions on the so-called "human rights and religious freedom in Viet Nam", the Vietnamese NA official provided practical examples and stated that some organisations and individuals in the US have distributed biased and erroneous information about the current situation in Viet Nam.

On the refusal to grant an entry visa to US Representative Loretta Sanchez to Viet Nam, Ninh said that the Vietnamese Government's policies are open and flexible to creating favourable conditions for US citizens and government officials to visit and work in Viet Nam. Ms. Sanchez's case is "one of exceptions" because her purpose to Viet Nam was not to serve Viet Nam-US relations, but to meet the demands of some of her voters. "The Vietnamese National Assembly has over the past years welcomed many US parliamentary delegations to create favourable conditions for US congressmen to achieve the purpose of their visits," the official streesed.

Ms. Ninh and her entourage had met people from universities, research institutions, non-governmental organisations, associations, the American Vietnamese community, and companies having economic and commercial relations with Viet Nam. The two sides exchanged views on issues of mutual concern in order to boost relations between the two countries in many fields, especially economic and commercial, and strengthen mutual understanding.

The visit, begun on Nov. 30 and concluding Dec. 19, is aimed at maintaining and expanding "Viet Nam-US dialogue", and promoting the relations between the two peoples.