US President George W. Bush met with visiting Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet in the White House on Friday and both leaders vowed to strengthen ties and dialogue between the two sides.

"I explained to the president we want to have good relations with Vietnam. And we've got good economic relations. We signed a trade and investment framework agreement. And I was impressed by the growing Vietnamese economy," Bush said after his talks with Triet.

Bush also thanked Triet for Vietnam's continued cooperation on the issue of POWs and MIAs during the Vietnam War.

For his part, Triet said he is determined to increase dialogue with the United States.

"Our approach is that we would increase our dialogue so that we will have a better understanding of each other," Triet said.

Triet is the first Vietnamese president to visit the White House since the Vietnam War. Bilateral trade and military ties have improved greatly in recent years.

(Xinhua News Agency June 23, 2007)