Socialist Republic of Vietnam

Washington D.C. (VNA) – Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai paid a working visit to the US from Nov. 15-20 to speed up the implementation of bilateral cooperation agreements reached during the US visit by PM Nguyen Tan Dung last June.
While in the US , the Deputy PM met with US Secretary of State Condolezza Rice, Deputy National Security Advisor Daniel Price, Secretary of the Department of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez, Trade Representative Susan C. Schwab and former Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky, among other US high-ranking officials.
The Vietnamese official also had dialogue with US large groups and corporations at a meeting held by the US-ASEAN Business Council and the US Chamber of Commerce, and met Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund Takatoshi Kato.
He also visited the Susquehanna nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania state.

At his meetings with US officials, Deputy PM Hai briefed them of Vietnam ’s socio-economic situation, and plans for future development, especially solutions to curb inflation and stabilise macro economy in the context of the global economic-financial turmoil. He expressed his delight at the rapid development of the bilateral relations over the recent time, particularly in trade and investment. He said his visit was aimed to step up the implementation of high-level agreements made during the PM Dung’s visit, including the setting up of working missions for granting the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) status to Vietnam and recognising the country’s market economy, and negotiations for the Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT), as well as cooperation in environment and education. Deputy PM Hai said the two countries should further enhance the bilateral ties, taking economic-trade cooperation as focal point and impulse. He suggested that the US soon grant Vietnam with the GSP status in order to expand the trade relations between the two countries. Vietnam respects and wishes to develop the partnership with the US in line with the high-level joint statements and to meet the desire of the two peoples, he stressed.

US officials appreciated the Deputy PM’s visit to boost bilateral relations and broaden mutual understanding. They said the two countries’ rapport has been developing and they believed that the new US Government would continue the policy to expand its ties with Vietnam in the future. They agreed that the two countries should keep the rapid pace of the development of bilateral ties, intensify exchange of delegations and work out appropriate solutions for outstanding problems. They also said the US would continue consideration of the GSP status for Vietnam and wished that the two sides would soon reach agreements on relevant procedures. Many US businesses showed their interest in doing business in Vietnam .

Earlier, Deputy PM Hai and his entourage attended a macroeconomic management policy exchange programme held in the Harvard University in Boston city, Massachusetts state.