White House statement covers topics of agreement on trade, energy, human rights, Vietnamese Americans' "contribution to the promotion of the relationship between the two countries." "President Bush welcomed these contributions and reiterated the U.S. government's support for Vietnam's national sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity." The United Nations and ASEAN were discussed. United States Education Cooperation with Vietnam In a Memorandum of Understanding signed by United States Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs James Glassman and Vietnam Vice Minister of Education and Training Pham Vu Luan, the two countries: • Expressed their wish to enhance friendship between peoples and cooperation in the field of higher education; • Recognized the importance of higher education in economic development; and • Recognized the importance of public-private sector partnerships between American and Vietnamese universities, colleges, and other organizations that support training and education projects. To develop strategies to deepen cooperation further in higher education, including contacts between educational institutions, they agreed to establish an Education Task Force, which will: • Encourage more and deeper linkages and joint programs between American and Vietnamese universities (including discussions about the best path to create a U.S. model higher education institution in Vietnam with the support of American universities and colleges, and simplifying procedures to establish new education and exchange programs in Vietnam); • Increase the number of Vietnamese studying at American universities and colleges, especially PhD students (including the United States’ initiative to facilitate an increase in the number of Vietnamese students studying in universities in the United States at all levels, and the Vietnamese interest in seeing more Vietnamese receiving United States graduate degrees); and • Promote educational programs designed to help Vietnamese students acquire the skills needed in Vietnam’s modernizing economy.    more »