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Venezuela's Chavez to visit Vietnam
By Frank Zeller
AFP
HANOI
Petroleumworld.com 07 31 06
Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez was heading to Vietnam on Monday as part of a world tour dominated by countries that have, or have had, antagonistic relations with the United States.
The leftist firebrand leader was due to arrive from Iran on his two-week sweep that also included stops in Cuba and Belarus and a visit to Russia, where he finalized a major arms deal opposed by Washington.
During his two-day trip to Hanoi the Latin American leader was scheduled to stop at sites associated with the country's revolutions and wars, including the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, a military museum and a war veterans' memorial.
He was also scheduled to visit another site that is on the itinerary of many foreign guests here, a rehabilitation centre for people suffering health defects blamed on the toxic US wartime defoliant Agent Orange.
On his tour so far, Chavez has met with several of Washington's arch-foes, including Cuba's Fidel Castro and President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus, an ex-Soviet state US officials have called "the last dictatorship in Europe."
At the weekend the Venezuelan leader visited Iran, regarded by Washington as part of an "axis of evil," where Chavez declared that "history has shown that as long as we stay united, we can remain resistant and defeat imperialism."
In Vietnam, Chavez and his hosts were certain to reflect on the country's war against the United States.
But while Chavez may again lash out at the United States, Vietnam's leaders were far less likely to join in, at a time when they have been eager to build up diplomatic and economic ties with their one-time enemy.
Earlier this year, Vietnam and the United States signed a trade deal that removed a major hurdle in Vietnam's bid to integrate into the global economy by entering the World Trade Organisation later this year.
US President George W. Bush is expected to visit Hanoi in November, when Vietnam hosts an Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.
Chavez was expected to discuss business as well as politics.
The leader of oil-rich Venezuela, his country's first president to visit the Southeast Asian country, was due to sign an energy cooperation agreement during his meetings with President Nguyen Minh Triet and other leaders.
Vietnam has major oil and gas reserves in the South China Sea but so far lacks refining capacity. In June, an executive delegation of state-owned PetroVietnam travelled to Venezuela for an official visit.
Chavez and his hosts were also expected to boost their relations in mining, agriculture, education and culture and information, state media reported.
So far, two-way trade has reached only 8.1 million US dollars a year, said the Vietnamese foreign ministry.
The two nations only established diplomatic ties in 1989. Vietnam opened its embassy in Caracas in 2005, while Venezuela inaugurated its mission in Hanoi in January of this year.
Both countries were also expected to discuss their wish to gain non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council.
AFP 31 0224 GMT 07 06
Copyright ©2006 AFP. All Rights Reserved.
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