In LR talk, Vietnam’s envoy stresses bilateral relationship

Vietnamese Ambassador to the United States Nguyen Quoc Cuong speaks Thursday at the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service in Little Rock.
Vietnamese Ambassador to the United States Nguyen Quoc Cuong speaks Thursday at the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service in Little Rock.

— Vietnam has enjoyed growing cooperation with the United States since President Bill Clinton normalized diplomatic relations with the country in 1995, Vietnam’s ambassador to the United States told a Little Rock audience Thursday.

The two nations have since created “dialogue mechanisms” to address issues such as labor, defense and political security, Ambassador Nguyen Quoc Cuong said in a speech at the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service.

“I am very optimistic about the bilateral relationship in the future,” he said.

It is important for the United States to continue its relationship with Vietnam, Cuong said. The Southeast Asian country is rapidly growing, he said, and its population of about 90 million is young, motivated and intelligent.

About 15,000 Vietnamese students study at U.S. universities, and Vietnam’s U.S. imports grow annually, he said.

“We welcome the U.S. to continue to develop peace and stability in the region,” said Cuong, who studied in the United States as a Fulbright scholar.

The Asia-Pacific region is rapidly changing, especially as its countries establish freetrade agreements across the world, Cuong said.

The United States shed its role as the top trade partner with many of those countries by not joining many of those agreements, he said.

Cuong applauded U.S. leaders’ decision to join the East Asia Summit, an annual forum held by leaders in the region.

About 30 protesters, who described themselves as “Vietnamese refugees from the communist regime,” gathered outside the event to protest “Vietnam’s gross violation of humanitarian principles and civil liberty,” according to an information sheet they distributed to attendees.

“Never listen to the communists!” the protesters yelled into a megaphone. “Communists, go home!”

A 2011 human-rights report by the U.S. State Department described elections in Vietnam as “neither free nor fair.” The report also described “severe government restrictions on citizens’ political rights, particularly their right to change their government; increased measures to limit citizens’ civil liberties; and corruption in the judicial system and police.”

Inside Sturgis Hall, where Cuong spoke, a woman who said she left Vietnam in the 1970s and hasn’t returned asked Cuong about the protesters outside.

Cuong said the country has changed since the 1970s, but it still has work to do.

“No one can say our country is perfect in human rights,” he said. “We need to improve. Everyone does.”

Arkansas, Pages 12 on 12/07/2012

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