Bush to attend APEC, visit Singapore, Indonesia: White House

WASHINGTON : US President George W. Bush will attend the annual APEC summit in Vietnam on November 18-19 and visit Singapore and Indonesia during his Southeast Asian trip, the White House said Monday.

During the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Hanoi, Bush looks forward to a "robust dialogue" on ways to ensure the continued prosperity of the region, the White House said in a statement.

Officials had said earlier that Bush was expected to push for a plan to rationalise the patchwork of free-trade initiatives in the Asia-Pacific region as part of reforms for the 21-member APEC forum.

The White House said Bush would also hold meetings with Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet and Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and other bilateral talks as well in Hanoi.

Before the trip, the Bush administration will try to get Congress to pass a bill granting Vietnam permanent normal trade relations, or full market access rights that are not subject to annual review, officials said.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) is expected to approve Vietnam as its 150th member next month.

Hanoi has amended a raft of laws to bring them into line with WTO rules and has completed bilateral talks on similar legal amendments with all WTO members who had requested them, including the United States, with whom it signed a market access agreement in late May.

The White House said that while in Vietnam, Bush will also visit Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon and once capital of the defunct US-backed state of South Vietnam.

The United States was forced into a humiliating scramble out of Vietnam after a prolonged war that ended when the US-backed Saigon regime crumbled on April 30, 1975.

Bush also will travel to Singapore and Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, during his trip, the White House said without giving specific dates.

Indonesian officials had indicated that Bush's visit could take place after the APEC summit.

Bush and Yudhoyono last met for talks on the margins of the APEC summit last year in Busan, South Korea, but this would be the first time the two leaders meet in Indonesia, a key US partner in Bush's "war on terror".

APEC includes Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Singapore, Russia, Taiwan, Thailand, the US and Vietnam. - AFP/ch

Reference : http://www.channelnewsasia.com/