Former US diplomat praises economic achievements in Viet Nam
Washington (VNA) - The relationship between the US and Viet Nam should focus on the economic aspects, Desaix Anderson, a former diplomat to South Asia said.
Anderson made the remark at a seminar on the US-Viet Nam relationship, which was held at the Montana University last week. He said the US should strive to build a strategic economic partnership with Viet Nam, whose leaders have made economic normalisation their top priority in relations with the US.
Anderson was the first envoy to the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, following the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, serving as charge' d'affaires from 1995-1997.
"Viet Nam is rapidly reforming its economy into a market economy," he said. "It's become a nation shedding its past and moving rapidly toward a very different future."
Today, Viet Nam boasts a growing economy and several impressive democratic achievements, including reducing corruption, seeking more widespread involvement in the government and reducing poverty, he added.
In the late 1980s, Viet Nam faced an economic crisis, but has recovered since abolishing its centralised economy, dismantling agricultural cooperatives, and opening up to foreign trade.
Inflation has dropped from 723 percent in 1988 to about 4 percent in recent years. Trade increased nearly 10-fold in the 1990s. The percentage of people living under the poverty level dropped from 79 percent in 1988 to 29 percent today - the most dramatic decline in the world, Anderson said.
Back
Top page
Print
Email
|