(VNA): "The United States fully supports Vietnam's efforts to join the World Trade Organisation (WTO)," US Ambassador to Vietnam Michael Marine said at a press conference in Washington on May 25. 

He also said that the next "logical step" following Vietnam's accession to the WTO would be to open negotiations on a US-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (FTA).

The Washington press conference marked the conclusion of the US-ASEAN Business Council's annual US ambassadors tour, in which the US ambassadors to Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam visit US cities to discuss regional issues with Americans.

The US-ASEAN Business Council is a coalition of private corporations dedicated to effectively strengthening the bilateral and overall US-ASEAN relations.

Regarding regional trade issues, US Ambassador to Thailand Ralph Boyce said the US goal is to create a network of FTAs with ASEAN countries.

"The United States makes sure our free trade agreements are comprehensive," US Ambassador to Indonesia Lynn Pascoe said. "There has been a lot of preliminary work and discussion done on these issues and the trade process is something we see as very important and I think the [ASEAN] countries do, too."

The US currently has an FTA with Singapore and recently completed a fourth round of FTA talks with Thailand.

"US investment in Vietnam is US $2.6 billion, making the United States the fifth largest investor in Vietnam," Marine said.

"Intellectual property rights (IPR) is a key economic issue across the region," US Ambassador to Singapore Frank Levin said, adding that the FTA is one of the most useful tools to improve IPR protection because it requires the counterpart country to establish requirements for the enforcement of intellectual property rights.

On the subject of regional security issues, Pascoe stressed that the United States is actively co-operating with Indonesian officials on counter-terrorism issues such as training security officials, as well as making sure the judicial system is working effectively throughout the country. "The co-operation is improving but there is a lot of room for improvement," he said.

"The Malaysian government has taken a very determined approach to dealing with terrorism through the founding of a regional counter-terrorism training center," US Ambassador to Malaysia Christopher LaFleur said.

Turning to regional health issues, specifically avian influenza, Marine said "the United States is working with Vietnam's officials and the World Health Organization to improve the technical ability of Vietnamese scientists, technicians working in the poultry industry, and health care workers to deal with the disease more effectively."

Boyce added the US Centers for Disease Control, and other US health agencies have co-operation agreements with the Thai Ministry of Public Health to work together on ways to combat the reoccurrence of avian influenza.