VZCZCXRO6609
OO RUEHHM
DE RUEHHI #0998/01 1451044
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 251044Z MAY 07
FM AMEMBASSY HANOI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5484
INFO RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH 3120
RHEHNSC/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RUEHBK/AMEMBASSY BANGKOK 5742

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 HANOI 000998 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS 
NSC FOR ASIA/HOLLY MORROW 
BANGKOK FOR PC DIRECTOR JOHN WILLIAMS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON PREL EAID VM
SUBJECT: GVN SEEKS COMMENTS ON PROPOSED TEXT AND EARLIER DATES FOR 
NEGOTIATING A PEACE CORPS AGREEMENT 
 
REF:  (A) HANOI 888 (B) EAP/MLS E-MAIL MAY 23 
 
¶1.  Action Request - Please see para 7. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Summary/Comment/Action Request:  EconCouns met with 
Ministry of Education and Training and MFA officials on May 24 to 
notify them of planned travel of Peace Corps (PC) officials to 
negotiate a Country Agreement.  The Vietnamese welcome the team, and 
handed over a Vietnamese-language text of their proposed agreement 
(see unofficial Embassy translation in para 6) to facilitate 
discussion, even in advance of formal talks.  The Vietnamese draft 
differs in format from the standard Peace Corps Country Agreement 
template.  Its provisions, while indicating forward movement by the 
Vietnamese on some key points, still appear lacking in other areas. 
MOET and MFA request that PC negotiators move up the talks to June 5 
and 6 due to a scheduling conflict.  End Summary/Comment/Action 
Request. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Comment and Action Request: Given the GVN desire to reach 
an agreement on Peace Corps in advance of the visit of President 
Nguyen Minh Triet, we believe we now have maximum leverage to demand 
and extract changes to the GVN's frustratingly consistent approach 
on the limits to the size and duration of the program.  Please pass 
comments and suggested changes, or a new text, to us ASAP for 
transmission back to MOET and the MFA.  Embassy also requests Peace 
Corps response to earlier dates for the negotiations, as proposed by 
the GVN. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Following receipt of Ref B, Econ Counselor met with 
Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) International Cooperation 
Department Director General Tran Ba Viet Dzung and Senior Officer Le 
Duc Long, accompanied by MFA Deputy Department Director (Americas) 
Nguyen Ba Hung at MOET on May 24 to inform them the PC proposal to 
send Regional Director Jay Katzen and General Counsel Leanne 
Galloway to negotiate the Country Agreement in Hanoi on June 7 and 
¶8.  The Vietnamese officials welcome this decision, but ask that 
Peace Corps officials to arrive earlier in order to negotiate on 
June 5 and 6 instead because of a serious schedule conflict with a 
MOET-organized conference. 
 
¶5. (SBU) The Vietnamese also provided a text of a draft agreement 
which Embassy staff unofficially translated (see paragraph 6 below). 
 The text provides more clarity on the eight points previously made 
by Dzung and reported in Ref A.  The Vietnamese asked for written 
comments on the text in advance of the negotiations. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Reiterating points that the Embassy has made with GVN 
officials over the course of the past several months, EconCouns 
responded that, in general, the PC standard practice was to have a 
Country Agreement on general principles that did not contain the 
detailed elements of a given project.  Thus, there were still major 
differences with the proposed Vietnamese approach.  Without 
prejudice to any other issues, he also noted in principle there 
appear to be outstanding differences with regard to such matters as 
the size of the staff, the number of volunteers, limits to the 
length of the agreement and restriction of the program to teaching 
in "English for special purposes."  He also noted that, while we 
have indicated our willingness to allow PC volunteers to be referred 
to as "friendship volunteers" in Vietnamese, English-language 
references should use the term "Peace Corps." 
 
¶6.  (SBU) (Unofficial Translation) 
 
BEGIN TEXT 
 
DRAFT 
 
AGREEMENT BETWEEN 
THE GOVERNMENT OF THE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM 
AND 
THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 
 
CONCERNING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE U.S.-VIETNAM FRIENDSHIP 
VOLUNTEER PROJECT FOR ENGLISH TEACHING 
IN THE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM 
 
The Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (hereinafter 
Vietnam) and the Government of the United States of America 
(hereinafter United States), recognizing the importance of 
developing mutually advantageous relationships and cooperation 
between their countries, in the principle of equality and national 
sovereignty, and in compliance with the laws and policies of each 
country, have agreed as follows: 
 
¶I. General provisions: 
 
HANOI 00000998  002 OF 004 
 
 
-- The Government of Vietnam represented by the Ministry of 
Education and Training (hereinafter MOET) and the Government of the 
United States represented by the Peace Corps, called in Vietnamese: 
To chuc Tinh nguyen vien Huu nghi Viet Nam - Hoa Ky (U.S.-Vietnam 
Friendship Volunteers, hereinafter UVFV) shall implement a project 
for teaching English for special purposes in the areas of natural 
sciences, engineering and technology in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City 
for 27 months, effective from the date of signing of this 
Agreement. 
-- During a period of 27 months, UVFV will send a maximum of 20 
volunteer teachers to teach English in Vietnam. 
-- Vietnamese establishments that receive volunteers shall be 
universities that provide training in the areas of natural sciences, 
engineering and technology in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. 
-- The volunteer teachers shall be granted visas valid for 12 
months; thereafter, the Vietnam side will consider the extension of 
their visas. 
-- MOET shall enable UVFV to send two (2) representatives to Hanoi. 
The two representatives and volunteer teachers of UVFV shall be 
exempted from all taxes on income that they receive from their work 
with UVFV. 
-- The personal effects of UVFV's two representatives and the 
volunteer teachers, and UVFV items introduced into Vietnam for 
English-language teaching purposes under the above project shall be 
exempted from import duties, value-added taxes (VAT) and the special 
consumption tax. When the two representatives finish their term of 
assignment and the volunteer teachers finish their teaching terms in 
Vietnam, the property and goods shall be re-exported and export duty 
exemption shall be applicable. 
-- Regarding automobiles and motorbikes being used by UVFV 
representatives and volunteer teachers introduced into Vietnam for 
their use, only one vehicle of each kind for each household shall be 
exempted from import duties, VAT and special consumption tax. 
-- The two UVFV representatives and volunteer teachers are exempted 
from visa fees. 
 
II. Provisions for Project Partners: 
For the Vietnamese party, the project partners include: the Ministry 
of Education and Training and the establishments that receive the 
volunteer teachers; for the U.S. party, the project partners are the 
U.S. Embassy, UVFV representatives and volunteer teachers. 
 
-1. The Vietnamese Party: 
a. Ministry of Education and Training: 
-- Shall obtain the operating license for the project. 
-- Shall provide UVFV a list of establishments that will receive 
volunteer teachers. 
-- Shall assist in obtaining visas and extending visas for the UVFV 
representatives and volunteer teachers. 
-- Shall give its opinion regarding the reception of volunteer 
teachers within 30 days after receiving from UVFV a list of 
volunteer teachers and resumes. 
-- Shall make comments on the selection of UVFV representatives in 
Hanoi to the U.S. Embassy and UVFV. 
-- Shall cooperate with the receiving establishments to receive 
volunteer teachers. 
-- Shall cooperate with the U.S. Embassy, UVFV, receiving 
establishments, and volunteer teachers to resolve any problems that 
arise between volunteer teachers and the receiving establishments. 
 
b. Receiving Establishment: 
-- Shall be in charge of making arrangements for the volunteer 
teachers' work and managing them. 
-- Shall provide monthly allowances for volunteer teachers as may be 
agreed to between UVFV and the receiving establishment. 
-- Shall assist volunteer teachers in finding suitable lodging and 
in obtaining visas and extending expired visas. 
-- Shall inform in writing MOET, the U.S. Embassy and UVFV of any 
dispute arising between the receiving establishment and volunteer 
teachers. 
-- Shall prepare six-month periodic evaluation reports on the 
volunteer teachers to MOET, the U.S. Embassy and UVFV. 
 
-2. The U.S. Party: 
a. U.S. Embassy in Hanoi: 
-- Shall be the U.S. Government point of contact in Vietnam (on 
behalf of the U.S. Government as one signatory to this agreement). 
The U.S. Embassy in Hanoi is responsible for coordinating with MOET 
in supervising and assisting volunteer teachers' activities, 
discussing with MOET and UVFV the implementation of the project 
every six months; coordinating with MOET to resolve any disputes 
arising between volunteer teachers and the receiving establishments 
in the event the UVFV representatives in Hanoi are not able to reach 
resolution. 
-- After project termination, the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi shall 
 
HANOI 00000998  003 OF 004 
 
 
discuss with MOET the results of project implementation, and based 
on that result the two sides will discuss the extension of the 
project for English teaching in Vietnam.  At the same time the U.S. 
Embassy will discuss with appropriate agencies of Vietnam the 
possibility of expanding UVFV activities to other fields. 
 
b. U.S.-Vietnam Friendship Volunteers (UVFV): 
-- Shall provide volunteer teachers at the request of MOET; teachers 
will be approved by MOET to teach English in Vietnam. 
-- Shall provide MOET with lists of volunteer teachers and their 
resumes at least 30 days in advance of their arrival in Vietnam. 
-- Shall recruit U.S. citizens who will have at least a university 
degree with a background in natural sciences, engineering and 
technology to act as volunteer teachers in Vietnam. 
-- Shall provide volunteer teachers with skills in teaching English 
for special purposes and with a basic knowledge of Vietnam in such 
areas as culture, customs, law, cross-culture. 
-- Shall provide volunteer teachers with equipment that MOET and 
UVFV find is necessary to facilitate the accomplishment of the 
volunteer teacher teaching missions. 
-- Shall pay wages, allowances and other expenses for volunteer 
teachers. 
 
c. UVFV representatives: 
-- After obtaining permission, shall be allowed to rent office 
space, rent housing, and recruit Vietnamese office staff (from three 
to five people) through the Diplomatic Service Bureau. If there is a 
need to increase the number of staff, approval from MOET and other 
concerned Vietnamese agencies must be obtained. 
-- UVFV representatives shall be responsible for supervising 
volunteer teachers, cooperating with MOET and the U.S. Embassy in 
regularly overseeing them and assisting their activities and 
resolving all issues that may arise between volunteer teachers and 
the receiving establishments; and discussing with MOET and the U.S. 
Embassy the project implementation situation every six months. 
-- UVFV representatives shall be responsible for ensuring that none 
of its staff undertake profit-making activities or other activities 
that are not related to the implementation of the English-teaching 
project in Vietnam. 
-- UVFV representatives shall be responsible for ensuring all family 
members and volunteer teachers do not undertake professional and 
specialized activities without the permission of MOET and other 
concerned Vietnamese agencies. 
-- UVFV representatives and their family members and office staff 
must respect and abide by the prevailing laws and regulations of the 
Socialist Republic of Vietnam. 
 
d. Volunteer Teachers 
-- Shall, along with their family members, be responsible for 
respecting and abiding by the prevailing laws of the Socialist 
Republic of Vietnam. 
-- Shall take assignments from MOET and the receiving establishments 
of Vietnam. 
-- Each volunteer teacher shall teach for 20 hours per week maximum, 
and shall not be allowed to undertake other activities not related 
to their project without the permission of MOET and UVFV. 
-- Shall inform MOET, the U.S. Embassy and UVFV of any disputes with 
the receiving establishments. 
-- After 30 days of sick leave, a volunteer teacher shall be allowed 
to terminate if a medical diagnosis reveals that one's health 
condition does not permit accomplishment of the assignment. 
-- When volunteer teachers have medical problems, the receiving 
establishments will provide medicine and arrange for hospitalization 
and facilities on the same level and basis as treatment provided to 
Vietnamese teachers of similar rank. If volunteer teachers are 
seriously ill and need treatment at a Vietnamese central hospital or 
an international hospital inside or outside Vietnam, UVFV will cover 
all expenses related to transportation and hospital charges. 
 
III. Other provisions: 
-1. Equipment: 
--The U.S. Government shall provide volunteer teachers and UVFV 
representatives with the equipment necessary to facilitate the 
effective implementation of the volunteer teachers' mission. 
--This equipment will be free of import duties, VAT and special 
consumption tax. The resale of this property will take place in 
accordance with the law of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, in 
which tax exemption provisions will apply if re-exported. 
 
-2. Dispute resolution: 
--Appropriate representatives of the two governments will 
periodically discuss the issues related to volunteer teachers and 
projects so that this Agreement is well implemented. 
-- Any dispute arising during the implementation of this Agreement 
will be resolved by the two governments in a spirit of cooperation 
 
HANOI 00000998  004 OF 004 
 
 
and good will.  In cases of disputes related to law, Vietnamese law 
will be applied. 
 
-3. Implementing provisions: 
-- This Agreement may be amended with the mutual agreement of the 
two governments. Any amendment must be agreed by both parties in 
writing. 
-- This Agreement will be effective for 27 (twenty-seven) months 
from the date of signing. 
 
Made in (city) on (date) in two copies, one in Vietnamese and one in 
English, both being equally valid. 
 
ON BEHALF OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC 
OF VIETNAM: Vice Minister of Education and Training 
 
ON BEHALF OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: U.S. 
Ambassador to Vietnam 
 
END TEXT 
 
¶7. (SBU) Comment and Action Request: Given the GVN desire to reach 
an agreement on Peace Corps in advance of the visit of President 
Nguyen Minh Triet, we believe we now have maximum leverage to demand 
and extract changes to the GVN's frustratingly consistent approach 
on the limits to the size and duration of the program.  Please pass 
comments and suggested changes, or a new text, to us ASAP for 
transmission back to MOET and the MFA.  Embassy also requests Peace 
Corps response to earlier dates for the negotiations, as proposed by 
the GVN. 
 
MARINE