Posted on 09/19/2004 8:06:19 PM PDT by El Conservador
HANOI, Vietnam - Vietnam Airlines on Sunday took delivery of a Boeing 777-200ER flown in from Seattle, the last of four planes it bought three years ago following a landmark U.S.-Vietnam trade agreement.
The multimillion-dollar aircraft deal — estimated to be worth about $700 million — was the first commercial agreement signed between the two countries after the 2001 trade deal. The United States is now Vietnam's largest trading partner.
"The Boeing purchases played a very important role in pushing forward the U.S-Vietnam trade relationship," said Nguyen Xuan Hien, president and CEO of Vietnam Airlines, the country's national carrier.
Washington state Gov. Gary Locke arrived in Ho Chi Minh City over the weekend, heading up a trade delegation exploring business opportunities in Vietnam.
During a small ceremony marking the Boeing deal at Hanoi's Noi Bai International Airport, Hien greeted a small delegation from the company's operations in Washington state who had arrived with the plane. Vietnam's national carrier has already agreed to lease two more long-range Boeing 777s this year.
Vietnam Airlines has been steadily expanding its fleet of aircraft to meet growing demand, said Hien. By the end of 2005, Vietnam Airlines will own or lease 40 aircraft in its fleet, which also includes ATR, Fokker, and Airbus aircraft.
Hien said Vietnam Airlines has also signed a letter of intent to purchase Boeing's new 7E7 Dreamliner, which is expected to be rolled out in 2008.
Heck, what do the protectionists have to say?
Think how much further along the Vietnamese would be, however, if they could have kept the communists at bay long enough to emerge as a real free-market representative democracy like South Korea, Taiwan, or Singapore. Guess they can thank, in part, the likes of John Kerry and Jane Fonda, for the fact they're still saddled with a totalitarian regime long after others in the region have gained real freedom.
Vietnam Airlines has been flying the 777 for a while, and 767's I believe, I flew on them a few months ago on an ATR72, and they also have Airbus planes in their fleet. No big deal, just glad they aren't flying the crappy Yak-40's anymore.
Protectionists related to outsourcing or trade with Vietnam?
Vietnam. In September 2004 the Secretary of State designated Vietnam as a "Country of Particular Concern" under the International Religious Freedom Act for particularly severe violations of religious freedom. The Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom visited Vietnam to press for greater religious freedom in meetings with the Deputy Prime Minister, Deputy Foreign Minister, Deputy Minister of Public Security, the head of the Office of Religious Affairs, the Chairman of the Fatherland Front, and other government officials. Staff from the Office of International Religious Freedom also traveled to Vietnam three times. U.S. officials consistently urged the release of religious prisoners, a ban on forced renunciations of faith, an end to physical abuse of religious believers, and the reopening of hundreds of churches closed in the Central Highlands. Embassy and Consulate General officials also regularly raised religious freedom concerns with Vietnamese leaders. The Assistant Secretary for East Asia and Pacific Affairs raised concerns about religious freedom during the annual bilateral political dialogue held in Hanoi in May. Embassy and Consulate staff also regularly met with religious leaders and traveled throughout the country to investigate reports of religious freedom violations.
http://usinfo.state.gov/mena/Archive/2004/Sep/15-492728.html
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