Planned Clinton visit seen as symbolic of growing U.S.-Vietnam ties

President Bill Clinton's planned visit to Vietnam - the first by a U.S. leader since the end of the war in 1975 - is symbolic of the renewal of ties between former enemies, Vietnamese officials and other interested parties say.

President Bill Clinton's planned visit to Vietnam - the first by a U.S. leader since the end of the war in 1975 - is symbolic of the renewal of ties between former enemies, Vietnamese officials and other interested parties say.

White House officials announced Thursday that Clinton will travel to Hanoi after a scheduled Nov. 15-16 visit to Brunei for the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.

Official reaction Friday from Hanoi made it clear that the American president would get a warm reception.

"Vietnam welcomes U.S. President Bill Clinton's official visit to Vietnam at a time appropriate for both sides," said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Phan Thuy Thanh.

Clinton has made important contributions to the improvement of Vietnam-U.S. relations over the past few years, she added.

"In the spirit of looking forward to the future, Vietnam hopes the first visit by the U.S. president will further promote ties between two countries," she said.

Clinton, whose administration established diplomatic ties with Hanoi in 1995, has presided over a lengthy rapprochement that began in 1994 with the lifting of a trade embargo against Vietnam.

In July, the two countries signed a landmark bilateral trade agreement, and its anticipated ratification early next year would be the final step in normalization.

White House officials said bilateral trade, the continued recovery of remains of U.S. servicemen and research on the health effects of the defoliant Agent Orange - used by U.S. forces in wartime - will top the agenda during Clinton's visit.

During his visit, which is expected to last several days, Clinton is expected to see Ho Chi Minh City, also known as Saigon, and possibly Hue or Danang in central Vietnam.

"I think his trip is very significant," said Virginia Foote, head of the U.S.-Vietnam Trade Council, a business group advocating economic normalization.

"It doesn't mean that the past issues are forgotten. Of course POW/MIA work will continue and resolving lingering issues from the war will continue," she said, referring to cases of former prisoners of war and soldiers missing in action.

"But it's an indication that on one level - government to government - normalization is full and complete."

Clinton's trip will be a good opportunity to raise the issue of Agent Orange's impact on Vietnam, said Le Cao Dai, director of the Agent Orange Victims Support Fund and the country's leading expert on dioxins, the toxic component in Agent Orange.

Vietnam estimates it has 1 million victims suffering because of Agent Orange, including 100,000-150,000 children.

Dai expressed hope that Clinton would help Vietnam set up a dioxin research center. "He is in a very good position to contribute to healing the wounds of the war," he said.

Clinton would be the first U.S. president to visit Vietnam since Richard Nixon toured Saigon, the capital of then-South Vietnam during the height of the Vietnam War in 1969.

One observer said he hoped the U.S. president will use the opportunity to acknowledge some American responsibility for that war.

"It would be a great act of symbolic closure if Clinton said the right thing," said Chuck Searcy, Hanoi director of the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation.

"Then we can move on. Otherwise, you still have a wound that has not been allowed to heal," he said.