WASHINGTON, June 21 (Xinhuanet) -- US President George W. Bush met visiting Vietnamese Prime Minister Phan Van Khai on Tuesday and both leaders agreed to strengthen bilateral cooperation "in the context of a stable and durable partnership." 

US President George W. Bush on Tuesday met at the White House with Vietnamese Prime Minister PhanVan Khai, the first Vietnamese leader to visit Washington since the Vietnam War. (AFP)

    In a joint statement after the talks, the two leaders said that they want to "bring bilateral relations to a higher plane by developing a friendly, constructive and multi-faceted cooperative partnership on the basis of equality, mutual respect and mutual benefit."

    The two leaders agreed to encourage greater contact between their countries' respective executive and legislative branches, commercial and scientific communities, militaries, and citizens and to encourage more cultural and educational exchanges, said the statement released by the White House.

    The two countries also agreed to strengthen bilateral and multilateral cooperation on transnational issues, including fight against terrorism, transnational crime, narcotics, and human trafficking and to deepen cooperation on health and humanitarian issues, including the prevention of pandemics.

    Bush expressed strong support for Vietnam's accession to the World Trade Organization. Both sides also agreed to work together to promote favorable conditions for increased US investment in Vietnam.

    According to the statement, both sides also agreed to continue "an open and candid dialogue on issues of common concern, including human-rights practices and conditions for religious believers and ethnic minorities."

    The statement also said that the two leaders "shared a vision of peace, prosperity, and security in Southeast Asia and the Asia-Pacific region, and they agreed to cooperate bilaterally and multilaterally to promote these goals."

    Phan Van Khai is on a week-long visit to the United States, marking the 10th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. He is the highest-ranking Vietnamese official to visit Washington since the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. Enditem