Clinton to visit Vietnam in November

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- President Clinton plans to visit Vietnam in November, the first trip to that country by a U.S. president since the Vietnam War ended 25 years ago, administration officials said early Thursday.

Clinton has already informed Vietnamese leaders of his intention to visit the Southeast Asian nation. He will likely be accompanied by a delegation including several U.S. lawmakers who have been active in building relations with Vietnam.

The historic visit -- the first ever by a U.S. president to a unified Vietnam -- is planned for after the November 7 presidential election, the administration sources said.

Clinton, who did not serve in Vietnam, has been a champion of reconciliation, and established diplomatic ties with Hanoi in 1995. He has wanted to visit Vietnam before leaving office.

Vietnam and the United States signed a landmark trade deal earlier this year paving the way for normal trade relations between the two nations. The agreement needs to be ratified by Congress, and officials have said it is unlikely that will occur in the few weeks left in the congressional session.

The president reaffirmed his support for a trade agreement with Vietnam and discussed a possible visit with Vietnam's president, Tran Duc Luong, at the U.N. Millennium summit in New York last week.

One of the lawmakers who could join Clinton on the trip is decorated Vietnam veteran Sen. John Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat.

The late President Richard Nixon traveled to what was then South Vietnam in 1969 at the height of the Vietnam War to rally U.S. troops.

During the war, the United States backed South Vietnam against communist North Vietnam, which succeeded in unifying the country in 1975. The visit is likely to be highly emotional and controversial, not least because Clinton got deferred from the draft as a student.

Just this week, the State Department also issued its annual report on human rights around the world, citing some improvement in Vietnam's religious record, but criticizing the country for holding more than a dozen religious prisoners.

It said Hanoi recognized six official religious bodies and used lack of official recognition as a pretext for harassment.

Vietnam responded by slamming U.S. criticism of its religious rights record as interference in its internal affairs, although it said Clinton would be welcome if he decided to visit the country.

A spokesman for the Vietnamese government said there was "no such thing as the state of Vietnam repressing or hindering religious activities."

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Embassy of Vietnam -- Washington, D.C.
Permanent Mission of Vietnam to the United Nations
U.S. Embassy -- Hanoi
CIA World Factbook 1999 -- Vietnam

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