President George W Bush, hosting Vietnam’s head of state in a historic visit, will welcome robust trade ties the United States has developed with a former enemy but will also push concerns on Hanoi’s human rights record.Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet is making the first US trip by a head of state from the country since the Vietnam War ended in 1975. Triet’s meeting with Bush is another step by both countries to move beyond the painful history of the war.The Vietnamese president is especially keen to bolster a growing trade relationship with the US, Vietnam’s biggest export market.As he signed a trade and investment pact with the US on Thursday, Triet promised US business leaders his country would “widely open our arms to you.” He also sought to woo investors on an earlier leg of his trip to New York.But Washington’s concerns about the treatment of political dissenters by Hanoi’s one-party, communist-ruled government is among the sensitive issues that will come up in his Oval Office session with Bush. The two will have lunch after the meeting.“I think the tone of the meeting will be generally positive,” said Michael Green, an Asia expert and former White House adviser now at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies. “Bush will probably have a pretty tough message about the need for Hanoi to make economic reforms and to respect human rights and religious freedoms.”Green said Vietnam and the US had a strong interest in a friendly relationship. Among the shared strategic interests is concern about China’s rising clout.Bush in November became the second US president, after Bill Clinton, to visit Vietnam since the war. In announcing Triet’s visit earlier this month, the White House praised progress in the economic relationship but warned the jailing by Hanoi of political dissenters could jeopardise future growth in the trade ties.The White House has criticised an increasing number of arrests of dissidents and said they were out of character with Vietnam’s recent modernisation.Lawmakers in Congress voiced concerns to Triet on Thursday about human rights in his country. Vietnamese-American activists are planning a pro-democracy rally near the White House on Friday.
