Report: Bush to sign deal with Vietnam

HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam, June 6 (UPI) -- The United States and Vietnam intend to sign an accord that could set the stage for a free-trade agreement, a Vietnamese published report said Wednesday.

The deal -- a trade and investment framework agreement to expand trade and resolve outstanding disputes -- would be signed when President Nguyen Minh Triet visits U.S. President George Bush at the White House June 22, The Thanh Nien daily in Ho Chi Minh City said.

Triet will be the first Vietnamese head of state to visit Washington since the end of the U.S. war in Vietnam in 1975.

The two former enemies established diplomatic relations in 1995 and developed friendly ties largely based on trade and business.

Vietnam's trade ministry considers the trade and investment framework agreement an important step toward establishing a full-fledged free-trade agreement, the newspaper said.

The Bush administration had no immediate comment.

Washington is negotiating free-trade agreements with two other Southeast Asian countries, Thailand and Malaysia.