Hanoi Official Expects More Clues on MIAs
President Clinton’s decision to unblock multilateral lending to Vietnam will make it easier for Hanoi to find clues about missing U.S. servicemen, a senior Vietnamese official said Saturday.
Ordinary people--former soldiers or villagers--will be more willing to help now that the United States has made a gesture to improve relations, Nguyen Xuan Phong, head of the Foreign Ministry’s American department, said in an interview.
Vietnamese officials have long argued that ordinary people would be more disposed to help resolve the fate of MIAs if the United States eased its economic boycott.
“What we need is the cooperation of the people,” Phong said, “and I feel that this step given by the U.S. government will contribute to create favorable conditions for our government to receive the cooperation of our people.”
Vietnam welcomed Clinton’s statement Friday that the United States would stop opposing efforts by France, Japan and other countries to refinance Vietnam’s $140-million arrears to the International Monetary Fund.
Bankers and diplomats said the move paved the way for a wave of funding from institutions like the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, governments and companies for projects to upgrade infrastructure as Vietnam tries to convert its communist economy to a market system.
Phong said later that Hanoi wants diplomatic relations with Washington and an end to the economic embargo it has maintained against Hanoi since 1964.
“I am optimistic about the tendency of things,” he said.
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