HANOI, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam Saturday expressed welcome to the approval by the U.S. Congress of the bill on Permanent Normal Trading Relations (PNTR) status to Vietnam, saying it "represents an important step that helps promote the relationship between Vietnam and the United States."

    Foreign Ministry spokesman Le Dung said that the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate approved the PNTR status to Vietnam on Dec. 9 is "of major significance for the ties between Vietnam and the U.S., marking full normalization of the bilateral relationship, especially in economic and trade fields."

    It results from enormous efforts by both sides in the normalization process of the bilateral relations, illustrating tangible fruits of the common desire to build better relations between Vietnam and the United States, he said.

    The PNTR approval "will pave the way for both sides to implement their own commitments within the frameworks of World Trade Organization (WTO) regulations and of Vietnam-U.S. Bilateral Trade Agreement to Vietnam's accession to the WTO, opening up new cooperation opportunities for the two peoples, particularly the business communities," he added.

    Vietnam is convinced that given the approval of PNTR, positive developments in the Vietnam-U.S. relations recorded over the past time will be further fostered and enhanced, contributing to moving the bilateral relationship toward a friendly relationship, constructive partnership and a comprehensive cooperation on the basis of equality, mutual respect and benefits, he said.