Cablegate: Vietnam: Positive Shift Toward Peace Corps but Issues

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DE RUEHHI #2255 2480821
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 050821Z SEP 06
FM AMEMBASSY HANOI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3271
INFO RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY 1739
RUEHBK/AMEMBASSY BANGKOK 5082
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 6761
RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU 0256
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RUEHSH/AMCONSUL SHENYANG 0326
RUEHGZ/AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU 0717
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC

UNCLAS HANOI 002255

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EAP/MLS AND EB/TPP/BTA/ANA

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON ETRD PREL VM
SUBJECT: VIETNAM: POSITIVE SHIFT TOWARD PEACE CORPS BUT ISSUES
REMAIN

SENSITIVE - DO NOT POST ON INTERNET

1. (SBU) Summary. Recent discussions with Vietnam's Ministry of
Foreign Affairs (MFA) indicate the Government of Vietnam's (GVN)
stance towards the Peace Corps may be shifting in a positive
direction and lead us to believe that an agreement to begin a
program in Vietnam remains possible before President Bush's visit in
November. MFA's Le Chi Dzung told Econoff that the MFA has now
taken the lead in the project of bringing the Peace Corps to
Vietnam, replacing the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET).
This is a positive sign, as MOET officials had been inflexible and
did not have authority to discuss general matters such as future
Peace Corps activities in health and the environment. Dzung also
requested a copy of the PC country agreement with China. End
Summary.

2. (SBU) In a series of discussions with Econoff August 30 -
September 1, Le Chi Dzung of MFA's Americas Department emphasized
that the GVN is very eager to work out the details of an agreement
so that the Peace Corps program can be a deliverable for the
President's visit. The MFA wants the announcement of a program to
represent a new chapter in U.S.-Vietnamese relations, he said.

3. (SBU) According to Dzung, the GVN is carefully reviewing the
details of several Peace Corps country agreements forwarded to the
MFA by the Peace Corps in order to determine which GVN ministry or
organization should be the country agreement signatory and to
understand the terms by which a Peace Corps program would be
established in Vietnam. The current possible GVN signatories are
the MFA, the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations (VUFO), MOET,
or the Ministry of Planning and Investment. Dzung repeatedly
brought up VUFO, the government agency to coordinate NGO activities.

3. (SBU) As in past discussions, Dzung requested a copy of the Peace
Corp's China country agreement. Dzung emphasized that the MFA was
eager to see a copy of this agreement, even if the Peace Corps could
indicate which line items were unacceptable and could not be
replicated. "Peace Corps has a history...and China is similar to
us," he said. "We hope that the United States will be as
transparent as possible on this issue."

4. (SBU) Econoff passed on the wish of the Peace Corps Thailand
Country Director John Williams to visit Vietnam in early September
to try and hammer out further details of an agreement, but Dzung --
while not refusing a visit -- said that Vietnam is not ready for a
visit yet. He asked that the United States give the GVN time to
respond to the positions advanced during the assessment visit before
planning a new trip. He stated that the GVN would have new
information for the Peace Corps and asked that we wait until
September 6 or 7.

5. (SBU) Comment: We welcome this confirmation that the GVN is
focused on the Peace Corps issue. Its desire to see the China
country agreement has become an issue of some importance. The GVN
believes that the China agreement contained "concessions" made
because of China's status as a communist country, perhaps including
special provisions on espionage or religious and political
activities. Post believes sharing this document could accelerate
the process of reaching an agreement with the GVN.

MARINE

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