Lowry Pitches Ties With Vietnam Governor Signs Landmark Pact To Expand Trade With Ex-Enemy

Washington Gov. Mike Lowry and Vietnam’s Trade Minister Le Van Triet signed a landmark agreement Tuesday to form a working group to help expand commercial ties between the state and nation.

Lowry, the first American governor to visit Hanoi since the Vietnam War, made a sales pitch for Washington-made products earlier in a 20-minute meeting with Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet.

Lowry’s three-day trade mission came a month after the United States established diplomatic relations with its former enemy. The United States is now Vietnam’s sixth-largest source of foreign investment and an increasingly important trade partner.

“This will truly foster the betterment of life for both our peoples,” Lowry told Triet after they signed the letter of intent in a brief ceremony at Trade Ministry headquarters.

The pact is the first of its kind to be reached between an American state and Vietnam. The signing came ahead of a round of talks set for Oct. 5 in Washington, D.C., about a possible trade agreement between the two nations.

Lowry, a Democrat, described his talks with Kiet as “very warm, very futuristic and friendly.”

Lowry said that he pushed in particular for sales of passenger aircraft built by the Seattle-based Boeing Co., which is vying for a contract with state-run Vietnam Airlines.

Lowry also offered Seattle as a possible site for Vietnam’s first consulate in the United States. Two other West Coast cities - San Francisco and Los Angeles - have expressed a similar interest.

Kiet told Lowry in introductory remarks that his visit was of great importance to Vietnam’s relations with the United States in general as well as with Washington.

Advisors to Lowry, speaking after the talks, said Kiet noted that Washington had a potential trade advantage in its 60,000 Vietnamese-American residents.

“He asked Gov. Lowry to extend his best wishes to the Vietnamese in Washington and to let them know that they can be a bridge between Vietnam and the United States,” said Robert Randolph, the state’s special trade representative.

Vietnam’s communist leaders have tried to enlist the help of overseas Vietnamese in rebuilding their impoverished but fast-growing nation. Many Vietnamese-Americans fled their homeland after the war ended in a communist victory, but Lowry said most of those living in his state had expressed support for his trip.

Earlier Tuesday, Lowry and Triet inaugurated a mini-trade fair for 17 Washington-based companies at Hanoi’s Defense Ministry guest house. The U.S. firms advertised products ranging from lumber and cherries to computer software and water desalinators.

Lowry was to leave Hanoi for home today.