VZCZCXRO9244
OO RUEHHM
DE RUEHHI #0601/01 0741104
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 151104Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY HANOI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1121
INFO RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY 0711
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 1053
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HANOI 000601 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS 
STATE PASS USTR FOR BWEISEL and GHICKS 
USDOC FOR 4431/MAC/AP/OPB/VLC/HPPHO 
TREASURY FOR OASIA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON APEC ETRD WTRO VM
SUBJECT: A/DCM'S MEETING WITH MOFA VFM PHUNG ON WTO AND APEC 
 
Sensitive -- Do not post on the internet 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: Acting DCM Greg Stanford, accompanied by 
ECON/C and Econoff, met March 14 with Ministry of Foreign 
Affairs (MOFA) Vice Foreign Minister Le Cong Phung at his 
request to discuss WTO negotiations.  Phung said senior 
Government of Vietnam (GVN) officials heard informally 
during a recent Washington visit that the United States sees 
our bilateral WTO negotiations progressing as follows: final 
negotiations and closing during the March 24-25 Geneva 
talks, an informal signing this April in Washington between 
a U.S. official and Ministerial-level GVN official, followed 
by a formal signing in June when the U.S. Trade 
Representative and GVN Trade Minister would be in Ho Chi 
Minh City for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) 
Trade Ministerial.  Phung sought confirmation of this 
proposal and initially suggested the GVN might accommodate 
any version of this scenario (though, he later expressed 
concern that a June signing might not permit the U.S. 
Congress enough time to consider a PNTR vote before summer 
recess).  Stanford promised to query Washington for 
clarification and then pressed Phung, who is the APEC Senior 
Officials Meeting (SOM) Chair, on three concerns relating to 
the Leaders' Meeting and our 2006 APEC agenda: a clarified 
visa process in advance of SOM 2, more specific guidelines 
on hotel allocations and enhanced support for U.S. 
priorities and proposals on the APEC agenda.  End Summary. 
 
WTO 
--- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Phung observed that while WTO progress to date has 
been satisfactory, the GVN remains eager to close bilateral 
negotiations as soon as possible.  He asked for 
clarification of what the United States envisioned as the 
next steps in the process, adding that recent GVN 
conversations with U.S. officials in Washington suggested 
the U.S. preferred to conclude at the upcoming March 24-25 
bilateral meeting in Geneva, conduct an informal signing 
this April in Washington between a U.S. official and a 
Ministerial-level GVN official in the capacity of a special 
emissary from the Prime Minister, and finish with a formal 
signing on the margins of the APEC Trade Ministerial in June 
between USTR Portman and Trade Minister Truong Dinh Tuyen. 
When pressed on what scenario the GVN preferred, Phung 
admitted that they liked any plan that involved closing as 
soon as possible and did not see the need to have both an 
informal and formal signing.  Phung also noted that the 
Tenth Party Congress planned for sometime in April would not 
impede an April signing.  He did, however, express concern 
that waiting until June to formalize the agreement might not 
allow sufficient time for the U.S. Congress to consider a 
PNTR vote before the end of the summer session. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Stanford replied that while Mission Vietnam was not 
aware of such a proposal, he would seek clarification from 
Washington.  He added that the U.S. side was very pleased 
with the progress made in the January negotiating round and 
hoped the March talks would produce similar results. 
 
APEC 
---- 
 
¶4. (SBU) Turning to APEC concerns, Stanford asked Phung what 
the GVN planned to do to clarify and resolve the visa 
situation for subsequent APEC events.  Phung admitted that 
there had been some confusion and problems with distributing 
the visa policy to GVN embassies, but that in the next few 
weeks MOFA would issue formal guidance and all APEC 
delegates would receive the same type of visa, number of 
entries and length of validity. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Stanford also asked Phung if the customary USG 
practice of providing host economies passenger manifests for 
travelers on White House airplanes in lieu of individual 
visa requests would satisfy GVN immigration and customs 
requirements.  Phung said he would look into it and get back 
to us. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Phung did confirm that "D" or tourist category 
visas would likely be revoked during busy times of the year, 
such as the upcoming 10th Party Congress meetings in Hanoi, 
and certainly at the November APEC Leaders' Meeting.  He 
 
HANOI 00000601  002 OF 002 
 
 
emphasized that coordination between the GVN and United 
States would be essential to ensure all official USG 
travelers who needed to enter Vietnam during these periods 
could do so. 
 
¶7. (SBU) When Stanford raised the question of hotel space 
and the U.S. need for approximately 950-1000 rooms (of which 
only 400-450 have been assigned to us so far), Phung replied 
that the MOFA Protocol Department is in charge of this part 
of the Leaders' Meeting and would soon convene a meeting to 
clarify what remaining rooms might be available. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Stanford concluded the meeting by asking Phung for 
the GVN's "enhanced support" of U.S. initiatives and 
proposals in APEC this year.  Phung replied that he was open 
to proposals from all economies and that he relied on his 
colleagues from the different economies "to settle their 
differences." 
 
MARINE