US President George W. Bush said on Tuesday that he would visit Vietnam in 2006 as he met Vietnamese Prime Minister Phan Van Phan at the White House.

"The prime minister graciously invited me to Vietnam. I will be going in 2006," when Vietnam hosts the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, Bush told reporters after talks with Phan Van Phan.

Phan Van Phan, 71, is the first Vietnamese prime minister to visit Washington since the end of its war against the US 30 years ago.

Bush said that he exchanged views with Phan on bilateral economic relations, Vietnam's admittance to the World Trade Organization (WTO), security issues and human right issues.

For his part, Phan said that he and Bush "agreed that there remain differences between our two countries due to the different conditions that we have, the different histories and cultures."

"But we also agreed that we should work together, through constructive dialogues based upon mutual respect to reduce the distances, in order to improve our bilateral relations," said the prime minister.

On the topic of Vietnam's inclusion in the WTO, the Prime Minister said, "We agreed that Vietnam's accession will benefit both countries." Vietnam and the US have decided to continue with their bilateral negotiations to win an early entry for the country into the world trade group, he added.

Phan and the Vietnamese delegation joined Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez to witness the formal signing of a series of business deals, including a Vietnam Airlines agreement to buy four new jetliners, valued at US$500 million, from Boeing.

After talking with Bush, Khai was at the State Department to sign an agreement to cooperate on adoptions.

He also met with Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld at the Pentagon. Military ties between the two countries have included periodic docking of US warships in Vietnam, plans for US military training of Vietnamese officers, intelligence sharing and cooperation on counter-terrorism activities.

 
(Xinhua News Agency, Chinadaily.com via agencies June 22, 2005)