VZCZCXRO1188
RR RUEHHM
DE RUEHHI #1798/01 2900030
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 170030Z OCT 07
FM AMEMBASSY HANOI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6519
INFO RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH 3807
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HANOI 001798 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS AND EB/CIP 
STATE PASS TO USTR JONATHAN MCHALE AND DAVID BISBEE 
COMMERCE FOR CORA DICKSON 
COMMERCE PASS TO NTIA FOR MBAKER,AHEINEMAN 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECPS ECON ETRD KIPR VM
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR AND MIC MINISTER HOP DISCUSS FUTURE COOPERATION 
IN TELECOM, ICT SECTORS 
 
Ref: A) HANOI 1749 
 
¶1.  (SBU) This cable contains biographical information for INR/B in 
paragraph 11. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Summary: In his introductory call on the new Minister of 
Information and Communications, Le Doan Hop, the Ambassador noted 
Vietnam's cooperation in the ICT dialogue, IPR enforcement and 
technology licenses.  The Ambassador also reinforced the U.S. 
message on the benefits of a transparent communication environment. 
Minister Hop, who moved to this position from his previous job as 
Minister of the newly divided Ministry of Culture and Information, 
spoke at length of his commitment to openness and the need for 
Vietnam to learn from the experiences of other countries.  End 
Summary. 
 
CONGRATULATIONS AND COOPERATION 
------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) During his October 8 call on Minister of Information and 
Communications Le Doan Hop, the Ambassador congratulated Minister 
Hop on his new post at the recently created Ministry of Information 
and Communications (MIC).  The Ambassador noted that our two 
countries enjoy a very positive relationship in terms of 
telecommunications.  In particular, the Ambassador highlighted three 
recent examples of cooperation: 
 
- The MIC was a key player in the GVN efforts to implement IPR laws, 
particularly those concerned with signal piracy.  This is an issue 
on which we have worked for some time and which is now seeing 
positive conclusions; 
- The United States appreciates the issuance - or impending 
issuances - of licenses which will allow American companies to test 
WiMAX technology, allowing for wireless broadband internet access; 
and, 
- The initial Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) 
Dialogue, held the previous month, was extremely fruitful and will 
be useful in pointing the way forward in this area. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Minister Hop congratulated the Ambassador on his posting to 
Vietnam.  He said that he was delighted by the growth in the 
bilateral relations between our two countries, particularly since 
Vietnam's accession to WTO.   He said he was very happy with 
increased interest and investment in Vietnam and noted that, in the 
first nine months of 2007, the United States was third in terms of 
tourists to this country (320,000), behind only China (460,00 
visitors) and Korea (350,000). 
 
¶5. (SBU) The Minister said that he was pleased that U.S. investors 
seem to be coming to Vietnam with "reasonable" expectations and 
visions for their investments here, and that this was a good 
starting point for expanded economic cooperation.  Specifically in 
terms of telecommunications, he stated that he had chaired a number 
of discussions within the Ministry on the topic and that it was his 
plan to enhance the "already open and liberalized" 
telecommunications environment by welcoming ideas for further 
improvement from interested countries including the United States. 
He said the Vietnamese economy would grow better with healthy 
competition for business and human resources.  Vietnam, he added, 
would benefit not only from outside financial assistance, but also 
from absorbing the knowledge, experiences and expertise from other 
nations including the United States. 
 
LESSONS LEARNED 
--------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) Minister Hop told the Ambassador that he had just returned 
from a visit to the United States last month, and that he had 
observed four major areas in which Vietnam had much to learn from 
the Americans: 
 
- Infrastructure, particularly in terms of transportation, urban 
development, ports support, and communications; 
- Urban and rural planning; 
- Human Resources development; and, 
- Regulation and administration of rural areas. 
 
Vietnam, the Minister said, must be open to new ideas and flexible 
in implementing them in order to maximize their benefits.  For 
example, the Ministry is working to make regulations covering 
internet and network development more open in order to spur more 
rapid progress. 
 
¶7. (SBU) The Minister spoke at some length about the importance of 
cross cultural exchange and understanding.  He told the Ambassador 
 
HANOI 00001798  002 OF 002 
 
 
about the renowned 19th Century Vietnamese philosopher and reformer, 
Nguyen Truong To, famous for his innovative ideas and policies. 
Primary amongst his beliefs was that the best way for a country to 
progress and improve itself was to open itself to other cultures and 
ideas, and citizens should be sent out in the world to learn new 
business practices and ideas in order to develop mutual 
understanding between nations.  Minister Hop noted that Nguyen 
Truong To had also served as an interpreter for French missionaries 
- further proof that exposure to other cultures benefited one's own 
country. 
 
A NEW OPENNESS 
-------------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) The Ambassador responded that Minister Hop had hit upon 
some very important themes, and he expressed the hope that the two 
of them might discuss them further at a later date when both had 
more time.  He agreed with the Minister that Vietnam's openness to 
new technologies and ideas could allow it to leap-frog over other 
countries in terms of technology, as well as with the philosophies 
of Nguyen Truong To that exposure to other thought and culture 
allowed growth. 
 
¶9. (SBU) The Ambassador noted that the technology to extend 
broadband and the internet was only as good as the openness of that 
proliferation.  He told the Minister that he had seen stories about 
Vietnam in the international media that he believed were based on 
bad information, but that in the absence of an open and free 
exchange, good and accurate information would be restricted as well. 
 
 
¶10. (SBU) The Minister said that he believed Vietnam's future 
success in this area of growth was based on three "Ts" (each word 
beginning in T in Vietnamese).  They were information, knowledge and 
trademark (or branding).  The Ambassador suggested a fourth T - 
transparency, and then told the Minister that one of the top 
priorities for his tenure as Ambassador is to double the number of 
Vietnamese students in the United States, which would represent that 
exchange of knowledge that the Minister had discussed. 
 
Biographic Information 
---------------------- 
 
¶11. (SBU) Minister Hop, who moved to this position from his previous 
job as Minister of Culture and Information (MOCI) after the August 2 
Cabinet reshuffle.  Prior to assuming his position at MOCI in June 
2006, Hop was Vice Chairman of the Party Central Committee's 
Ideological and Cultural Affairs Commission.  Before that, he was 
Chairman of the People's Committee and later Party Secretary in Nghe 
An Province.  The Ministry of Information and Communications 
oversees six broad areas - press; broadcast; printing/publishing; 
information and communication technology (ICT); posts; and 
telecommunications.   Hop is new to telecommunications and ICT, and 
has told the press that he must learn quickly in his new job. 
 
ALOISI