By Xinhua,
Hanoi : Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has begun an official visit to the United States scheduled from June 23 to June 26 at the invitation of U.S. President George W. Bush.
The visit, first by Dung since he took office in 2006, is to strengthen the two nation’s friendship and multifaceted cooperation for mutual benefit, particularly in the areas of economics, education and training, science and technology, and the environment, according to a source from the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry on Monday.
During the visit, Dung will meet with Bush and the two will talk on ways to advance the close bilateral cooperation on a broad range of issues, including the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the United Nations Security Council, education, energy and climate change, food security, and regional economic integration.
The Vietnamese prime minister will also have sideline meetings with U.S. economists, including Alan Greenspan, former chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve of the United States, to seek advice on economic, realty and financial issues.
Dung is accompanied by his deputy and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Gia Khiem, Minister and Chairman of the Government Office Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Minister of Planning and Investment Vo Hong Phuc, Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang as well as officials of relevant ministries and agencies.
In recent years, Vietnam and the U.S. saw frequent political and economic exchanges. Trade value between the two countries last year reached about 12 billion dollars and stood at 5.5 billion dollars in the first five months of this year.
The U.S. currently ranks 5th among all countries and regions investing in Vietnam with a combined investment capital of 5.5 billion dollars.