(24 Jun 2008) SHOTLIST
1. Wide of US President George W. Bush meeting with Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung
2. Mid of Nguyen
3. SOUNDBITE (English), George W. Bush, US President
"We had a good dialogue. We talked about economic cooperation. We talked about educational cooperation. We talked about the need to work together on the environment. I thank the Prime Minister for his work on accounting for the POW's (Prisoner of War) and MIA's (Missing in Action). We discussed the neighbourhood, the region. We talked about the freedom, religious and political freedom, and I told the prime minister that I thought the strides that the government is making toward religious freedom is noteworthy."
4. Bush and Nguyen
5. SOUNDBITE: (Vietnamese) Nguyen Tan Dung, Vietnam's Prime Minister
"The President and I agreed to establish a new dialogue mechanism at the senior level on the strategic matters of economics, education, environment, science, defence and security. President Bush also reiterated his support for Vietnam's sovereignty and security and territorial integrity."
6. Wide of Bush and Nguyen shaking hands
STORYLINE
Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung met US President George W. Bush at the White House on Tuesday to work on developing stronger economic ties between the two countries.
The talks came after a flurry of trade deals between US and Vietnam firms, presided over by the Vietnamese Prime Minister.
Bush said the pair had held talks on economic, educational, environmental cooperation as well as past issues stemming from the Vietnam war.
"I thank the Prime Minister for his work on accounting for the POW's (Prisoner of War) and MIA's (Missing in Action). We discussed the neighbourhood, the region," said Bush.
Over 58,000 US soldiers died during the Vietnam conflict and the plight of US prisoners of war has played an important role in US-Vietnamese relations, after the end of the war.
Nguyen Tan Dung said the two sides agreed to establish "a new dialogue mechanism at the senior level on the strategic matters of economics, education, environment, science, defence and security."
"President Bush also reiterated his support for Vietnam's sovereignty and security and territorial integrity," he said.
The President also noted the Vietnam's progress on religious and political freedoms, an issue that has been, in the past, a thorn in relations between the nations.
"We talked about the freedom, religious and political freedom, and I told the prime minister that I thought the strides that the government is making toward religious freedom is noteworthy" he said.
Bush's upbeat tone seemed to clash with his own State Department's assessment on the human rights situation in Vietnam in 2007, which cited reports of limits on religious meetings and the publication of religious texts.
Nguyen is the communist country's third high-ranking leader to visit Washington since the former foes normalised relations in 1995, two decades after the Vietnam War ended.
The countries have since built strong economic ties, with the US becoming a leading trade and investment partner.
Two-way trade between the countries topped 12 (b) billion US dollars in 2007, an increase of 34 percent from 2006, according to government figures.
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