[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 47 (Monday, November 27, 2000)]
[Page 2907]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at a United States-Vietnamese Business Forum Reception in Ho Chi 
Minh City

November 19, 2000

    Thank you very much. First, thank you for your warm welcome, Mr. 
Chairman. And let me thank all the members of the Vietnamese Chamber of 
Commerce and Industry, the U.S.-Vietnam Trade Council, U.S.-ASEAN 
Business Council and the American Chamber of Commerce for bringing us 
all together today.
    I am honored to be here with distinguished Members of the United 
States Congress and my Cabinet and administration and American business 
leaders who are interested in Vietnam.
    I hope this trip has helped the American people to see Vietnam in a 
new way and has encouraged the people of Vietnam to see America in a new 
way, so that we will have a partnership for the future.
    One important element of that partnership is our bilateral trade 
agreement, and I want to thank all of you here for your efforts to bring 
it about. There are so many Americans who want to play a positive role 
in Vietnam's future, including one million Americans of Vietnamese 
heritage.
    There are also a lot of American business people who came here many 
years ago, during the conflict--people like Jim Kimsey, who is on my 
trip here--who have done very well in the high-tech economy and other 
areas, who would like to give back to Vietnam and do something positive 
to build a better future.
    I want to thank you, Mr. Chairman, for the work that you have done 
here in Ho Chi Minh City to promote private economic growth and to 
encourage others to be partners with you in the future. And I hope that 
all of us will be able to celebrate that kind of future because of your 
leadership and the policies of the Government of Vietnam and the 
willingness of the people of Vietnam to support this new direction.
    Again, let me thank all of you for making my family and my 
delegation feel so welcome in Vietnam. I thank you for your vision for 
this young and dynamic country, and I am going home determined to 
continue the partnership we have for a better future for the people of 
Vietnam, the people of the United States, and all those whom we can 
reach together.
    Thank you very much.

Note: The President spoke at 5:53 p.m. at city hall. In his remarks, he 
referred to Vo Viet Thanh, chairman, Ho Chi Minh City People's 
Committee; and James V. Kimsey, founder, America OnLine. A tape was not 
available for verification of the content of these remarks.