VZCZCXRO7305
PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHNH
DE RUEHHM #0360 1001035
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 091035Z APR 08
FM AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3969
INFO RUEHHI/AMEMBASSY HANOI PRIORITY 2607
RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE
RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY 4191

UNCLAS HO CHI MINH CITY 000360 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR EAP/MLS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM ECON VM
SUBJECT: FORMER PM KIET URGES USG-GVN TO MAKE UP FOR LOST TIME 
 
Summary 
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¶1. (SBU) Former Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet believes the US and 
Vietnam "wasted too many years" before re-establishing relations 
after the war, and now both sides must hurry to make up lost 
time.  Kiet was especially keen on jump-starting stalled BIT 
talks.  On human rights, Kiet told Ambassador Michalak, the US 
and Vietnam share the same goals, but have different timelines 
for achieving them.  End summary. 
 
Senior Statesman Says "Hurry Up!" 
-------------------------------- 
¶2. (SBU) Vo Van Kiet, best known for his leadership role in 
Vietnam's reform ("doi moi") policy during his tenure as Prime 
Minister of Vietnam from 1991 to 1997, received Ambassador 
Michalak warmly on March 31 at his Ho Chi Minh City office. 
Kiet told the Ambassador that Vietnam's economic success has far 
exceeded his expectations, and Vietnam now stands poised to 
finally realize the development goals he and his colleagues 
envisioned when they began the reform process decades ago.  On 
the diplomatic front, Kiet said US-Vietnam relations were at an 
all-time high, but cautioned against complacency, noting that 
both sides "wasted too many years" before normalizing relations 
after the war, and now the two countries needed to hurry to make 
up for lost time, especially on the economic front. 
 
Balking at the BIT 
------------------ 
¶3. (SBU) Former PM Kiet asked the Ambassador what more could be 
done to move the Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) talks 
forward, noting Vietnam had similar agreements with many other 
countries already.  Ambassador Michalak said the current BIT 
impasse presented an "interesting case study," because all the 
senior GVN Ministers he has spoken with are eager to get to the 
negotiating table and begin ironing out the differences there, 
while GVN bureaucrats were taking a much more cautious approach. 
 Kiet was incredulous, noting in his day, "Bureaucrats listened 
to Ministers, not the other way around."  Kiet said he would do 
everything in his power to encourage senior leaders to start BIT 
negotiations as soon as possible, and urged the Ambassador to 
continue to do the same.  (Note: Though Kiet retired from 
official politics after leaving office, he remains an extremely 
influential advisor to GVN and CPV leaders alike. End note) 
 
Human Rights: Same Goals, Different Timeline 
-------------------------------------------- 
¶4. (SBU) Kiet believes Vietnam and the US actually share the 
same goals on human rights, religious freedom and democracy, 
noting "we want the same things for our people and countries." 
Kiet said Vietnam will continue to make efforts to improve its 
human rights record and expand the boundaries of free 
expression, press and democracy, but the country needs time to 
assess the changes brought on by global integration and 
requirements for future progress.  Kiet said frank and open 
discussion is the way for both sides to overcome mutual 
misunderstandings.  Now that both sides have overcome the 
biggest challenge of all, "the legacy of our past," Kiet 
stressed "we should not and must not let our remaining 
differences delay us from moving forward." 
 
FAIRFAX