U.S. and Vietnam Reportedly to Speed Amerasian Cases
Vietnam and the United States have agreed to set up a processing center in Vietnam to speed the emigration of children fathered by Americans during the Vietnam War, a Vietnamese report said Friday.
A Vietnamese News Agency dispatch received in Bangkok said U.S. and Vietnamese officials meeting in Hanoi last week agreed to set up the center.
U.S. officials said the agreement had not yet been finalized.
U.S. Embassy spokesman Ross Petzing quoted U.S. delegation leader Bruce Beardsley as saying the talks on the center were “useful and constructive” but that “no final agreement has been reached and details remain to be worked out.”
A Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman was quoted by the news agency as saying the officials “agreed to quickly solve technical problems (of procedures and air transportation) which are hindering the implementation of the program.”
There are an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 Amerasians in Vietnam.
The center, which will house some of the children and help process their departure applications, is expected to be paid for by part of the $5 million authorized by a congressional bill.
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