Vietnam to reassure USA on reform

Vietnamese business leaders say they will reassure the United States that Vietnam will continue liberalisation of state-owned enterprises and reform of the country's banking system.

The chairwoman of the Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce, Mrs Pham Chi Lan, said the visiting American senator, John Kerry, would be told of Vietnam's desire to attract more investment from outside Asia as a result of the region's current economic crisis.

Mr Kerry's visit follows an announcement last month by President Clinton's administration that it wanted to improve economic ties with Hanoi by waiving a US Congress provision the Jackson-Vanick amendment which limits trade with communist countries.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service