<B>Amb. Nguyen Tam Chien presents Letter of Credence</B>

Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador Nguyen Tam Chien presented Letter of Credence to President George W. Bush at the White House on October 10, 2001.

On this occasion, Ambassador Nguyen Tam Chien conveyed the warmest greeting and best wishes from Vietnamese Leadership, from President Tran Duc Luong and Madame to President George W. Bush and Madame.

Speaking at the accreditation ceremony, Ambassador Chien extended to the U.S. President the high appreciation from Viet Nam's leaders for his policy towards full normalization of relations with Viet Nam, through the waiver of the Jackson Vanik Amendment and submission of the Viet Nam-U.S. Bilateral Trade Agreement to the U.S. Congress for approval. The passage of Vietnam-U.S Bilateral Trade Agreement by the U.S Congress recently was an important step forward. The newly accredited Ambassador underlined the importance of follow-up measures to bring the Agreement into effect for the benefit of both sides.

Ambassador Chien also expressed his firm belief that the Viet Nam-U.S. cooperation would continue to develop in the areas of the economy, trade, science, technology, education, training and cultural exchanges. He affirmed that the cooperation included the readiness of Vietnam to cooperate to solve regional and global issues. He believed that the cooperation in resolving some humanitarian issues of both sides left by the war