VZCZCXRO3696
RR RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHHI #1099/01 1640930
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 130930Z JUN 07
FM AMEMBASSY HANOI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5631
INFO RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH 3233
RHEHNSC/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RUEHZS/ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 HANOI 001099 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM ECON VM
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR MEETS WITH PRESIDENT TRIET TO DISCUSS U.S. 
VISIT 
 
 
HANOI 00001099  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1. (SBU) During a June 13 meeting with the Ambassador, President 
Nguyen Minh Triet strongly underlined his hope that his upcoming 
visit to the United States and meeting with President Bush will help 
to advance the bilateral relationship and deepen Vietnam's 
friendship with the United States.  The Ambassador and Triet 
discussed human rights at length, and the Ambassador expressed hope 
that the United States and Vietnam would be able to find concrete 
ways to cooperate in the areas of rule of law, good governance and 
anti-corruption.  Triet stated in familiar terms Vietnam's concerns 
with "terrorists" and "lawbreakers," and asked that human rights 
"not be raised highly" during his meeting with President Bush. 
Triet also expressed confidence that a number of potential 
deliverables in the areas of anti-money laundering, intellectual 
property rights protection and peaceful use of nuclear energy, would 
be wrapped up in time.  On Peace Corps, Triet listened with interest 
as the Ambassador explained the USG position, and pledged to study 
the matter and respond soon.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) The Ambassador met for nearly an hour June 13 with 
President Nguyen Minh Triet to discuss Triet's upcoming visit to the 
United States and June 22 meeting with President Bush.  The 
Ambassador opened by underlining the significant progress our two 
countries have made over the past two years, particularly in 2006 
with President Bush's visit to Vietnam.  President Triet's upcoming 
meeting with President Bush will be the senior most interaction this 
year, and it will be an important occasion to maintain the bilateral 
relationship's momentum.  While the United States and Vietnam hope 
that the visit will be a success, both sides need to take steps to 
make this happen, and the key will be for us to be able to look back 
and describe in concrete terms what we accomplished during the 
visit. 
 
Human Rights 
------------ 
 
¶3. (SBU) One issue that President Triet's visit could help to 
advance is human rights, the Ambassador continued.  This is a matter 
of particular concern to the American people, USG and U.S. Congress, 
and will no doubt be raised during President Triet's discussions in 
the United States.  One way for our two countries to engage 
cooperatively on human rights is through bilateral programs in the 
areas of good governance, rule of law and anti-corruption.  DPM/FM 
Khiem recently responded (on behalf of President Triet) to Senator 
Leahy's letter proposing cooperative activities in these areas, and 
this was a step in the right direction.  However, both sides will 
need to work hard to turn this positive sentiment into concrete 
implementation. 
 
Visit Deliverables 
------------------ 
 
¶4. (SBU) Another very important aspect of the bilateral relationship 
is trade and investment, the Ambassador went on.  Through both 
sides' hard work, we have reached agreement in principle on a Trade 
and Investment Framework Agreement, the signing of which would be a 
major step in our commercial and economic relationship.  However, it 
would be disappointing if a TIFA signing were the sole deliverable 
of the visit.  Both sides are working hard to bring to closure 
agreements on the Peace Corps, intellectual property rights 
protection, peaceful use of nuclear energy and very important 
commercial deals.  All of these agreements are within sight, but we 
will need to work hard to finalize them in time for the visit.  In 
addition, we need to find ways to deepen and institutionalize 
cooperation on anti-money laundering. 
 
Dioxin 
------ 
 
¶5. (SBU) A subject that the United States and Vietnam can point to 
with pride is that of our cooperative efforts to address dioxin, the 
Ambassador noted.  Since Presidents Bush and Triet included the 
matter in their November 2006 Joint Statement, we have seen 
significant progress, and the U.S. Congress recently appropriated 
USD three million for environmental remediation and support for 
health programs near contaminated sites.  Once internal USG 
discussions are completed, we will coordinate with the GVN on how 
best to move forward, the Ambassador said. 
 
Progress Possible For Some Deliverables 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) President Triet agreed that bilateral relations have 
developed well over the past several years and expressed his hope 
that his visit to the United States will help to further enhance 
bilateral friendship and cooperation.  For its part, the GVN will 
"do more" to conclude as soon as possible the various agreements 
 
HANOI 00001099  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
raised by the Ambassador.  Within the GVN, particular ministries and 
organizations have been tasked with discussing these agreements with 
their American counterparts, and while there is agreement on the 
agreements' goals, differences remain regarding specific contents. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Peace Corps is one example, President Triet noted.  The GVN 
agreed to receive 20 volunteers, but the USG wants to send more. 
The GVN would like to proceed in a step-by-step manner and consider 
at a later date increasing the number of volunteers; this approach 
better suits Vietnam, and President Triet asked the Ambassador to 
"please explain this" to Washington.  Triet was more optimistic 
about other agreements.  On anti-money laundering cooperation, 
"there should be no hurdles" because Vietnam "always opposes money 
laundering."  Intellectual property rights protection cooperation 
should also go smoothly because, as a new member of WTO, Vietnam 
needs to comply with the organization's regulations.  Regarding a 
peaceful use of nuclear energy agreement, Vietnam has no desire to 
use nuclear energy for anything but peaceful ends, namely to provide 
electricity to fuel its economic growth.  On these and other 
agreements, the MFA and other relevant agencies will work closely 
with the Embassy and USG to bring them to a close. 
 
Triet Responds on Human Rights 
------------------------------ 
 
¶8. (SBU) Turning to human rights, President Triet stated flatly 
that, during his U.S. visit and discussions with President Bush, 
both sides will not resolve their differences on this matter.  The 
two countries still have different conceptions about human rights, 
different legal systems and different levels of development.  This 
is true everywhere in the world.  Therefore, both sides need to 
understand each other better.  For its part, Vietnam will try to 
narrow the gap with the United States.  But the United States must 
understand that, with its low per capita income of under USD 
1,000/year, Vietnam's number one goal is economic growth, and to 
achieve this it needs stability.  Vietnam condemns all obstacles to 
development and growth, such as corruption and trafficking and use 
of narcotics. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Vietnam also condemns terrorist acts, President Triet 
continued, and Vietnam cannot accept those who want to overthrow the 
government.  The GVN only punishes those who violate Vietnam's laws; 
"we do not punish dissidents," he stressed.  Those who were arrested 
had established and participated in organizations, with the help of 
overseas groups, whose aim was to overthrow the government.  If the 
same thing happened in the United States, surely the USG would take 
action and punish these individuals.  Vietnam and the United States 
continue to have differences, but they can be addressed through 
dialogue. 
 
¶10. (SBU) During the meeting with President Bush, if human rights 
"gets put on the table," it will not be in the interest of both 
countries, President Triet went on.  Of course, President Bush will 
likely raise this matter, but he should take into consideration that 
the issue of human rights is discussed often and in other fora.  "It 
would be better for President Bush and I to highlight other issues 
in the bilateral relationship," President Triet suggested.  If the 
issue of human rights is "raised too highly" in the discussions, 
"this may erase some of the goodwill" that the Vietnamese people 
have towards the United States, President Triet said. 
 
¶11. (SBU) The Ambassador noted that the United States raises human 
rights because it is a core American value and a concern of the 
international community.  If individuals plan to use or call for 
violence to effect political change, then they should be stopped. 
However, if they use words or thoughts to do the same, then this 
should be allowed, as stated in the UN Convention on Civil and 
Political Rights, of which Vietnam is a signatory.  We look forward 
to the day when there is more political space in Vietnam, the 
Ambassador said.  The United States would also like to see the 
release of detained and imprisoned political activists, but we know 
this will not happen overnight.  However, we hope that it happens 
soon, just as we were pleased that Nguyen Vu Binh was released and 
allowed to rejoin his family. 
 
¶12. (SBU) This is why we raised the issue of cooperative programs in 
the area of rule of law and elsewhere, the Ambassador continued. 
Part of Vietnam's reform agenda is legal and judicial reform, and we 
can work together on this usefully.  While a bilateral dialogue on 
our differences regarding human rights is important and should 
continue, it is not enough.  We need to construct a way to work 
together to put our thoughts into action, the Ambassador said. 
 
Further Push Needed On Agreements, Including Peace Corps 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶13. (SBU) Similarly, although both sides want a number of official 
and commercial agreements to happen, we need to address the details. 
 Hopefully, Boeing and other important deals can be concluded soon; 
 
HANOI 00001099  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
it would be disappointing if President Triet's visit did not yield 
any major commercial deals, in spite of the hard work of both sides. 
 A Gannon power plant deal may be close, and hopefully we can bring 
it to closure and speak publicly about it, the Ambassador said. 
 
¶14. (SBU) On Peace Corps, the Ambassador said he recognizes that a 
step-by-step approach is necessary, but the real issue is the size 
of these steps.  It makes no financial sense to start Peace Corps 
off in Vietnam without a reasonable platform size, and this has to 
be more than 20 volunteers.  Responding to President Triet's 
invitation to discuss this in more detail, the Ambassador explained 
that, in addition to four staff members (which we have agreed on), 
we would have 30 volunteers for 27 months; after this initial 
group's first 15 months, another 30 volunteers would arrive, leading 
to a total of 60 volunteers and four staff at any one time.  Both 
sides have also agreed that the volunteers would focus on education 
and would be based in Hanoi and HCMC.  President Triet responded 
that Vietnam will take this matter seriously and provide an answer 
"before the Ambassador departs" (June 16). 
 
¶15. (SBU) Wrapping up, the Ambassador also noted that both sides 
should continue to work hard on concrete measures to build the 
relationship, especially immediately after President Triet's visit. 
Besides the Boeing and Gannon projects, there are many other 
commercial deals in the pipeline, as well as a number of other 
important agreements requiring further progress, such as for New 
Embassy Compound land and to open new consular offices in each 
other's country.  President Triet expressed his thanks for the 
Ambassador's contributions to the bilateral relationship and 
repeated his hope that his upcoming visit to the United States will 
help to advance our two countries' ties.  "The most important thing 
is to improve our cooperation and friendship; Vietnam wants to 
enhance its relationship with the United States," he stressed. 
President Triet concluded by asking to see the Ambassador again 
before he finishes his assignment in Vietnam. 
 
MARINE