Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet signed a trade and investment pact with the United States on Thursday and vowed to improve the business climate in the fast-growing Southeast Asian communist state, Reuters reported. Triet, on the first visit to the United States by a postwar Vietnamese head of state, said it was "passe" for Americans to associate his country with conflict when it is now wide open for business. "We'll widely open our arms to welcome you," he said through a translator in a luncheon speech to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and U.S.-ASEAN Business Council in Washington. While more than a decade of reforms and entry to the World Trade Organization this year had opened Vietnam's economy, Triet said, there was still "much to be desired" in the country's business climate. "It is our determination to improve the overall business environment for businessmen and investors," he said. He later joined Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Karan Bhatia in signing a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement designed to open more markets and streamline business. Microsoft signed pacts under which a Vietnamese bank and other state agencies committed to install genuine software on their computers to combat rampant piracy, which has been an irritant in the two countries' $9.7 billion in annual trade.
