U.S. Department of State Background Notes: Vietnam, August 1995 Bureau of Public Affairs August 1995 Official Name: Socialist Republic of Vietnam PROFILE Geography Area: 329,560 sq. km. (127,243 sq. mi.); larger than Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina combined. Cities (1994): Capital--Hanoi (3.5 million); Other cities--Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon--5 million); Haiphong (1.5 million). Terrain: Varies from mountainous to coastal delta. Climate: Tropical monsoon. People Nationality: Noun and adjective--Vietnamese (sing. and pl.). Population (1994): 74 million. Annual growth rate (1994): 2.4%. Ethnic groups: Vietnamese (85%-90%), Chinese, Muong, Thai, Khmer, Cham, mountain groups. Religions: Buddhism, Hoa Hao, Cao Dai, Christian (predominantly Roman Catholic, some Protestant), animism, Islam. Languages: Vietnamese, English (increasingly favored as a second language), some French, Chinese, Khmer, mountain area languages. Literacy: 88%. Health: Infant mortality rate--36/1000. Life expectancy--63 yrs. male, 67 yrs. female. Government Type: Communist people's republic. Independence: Sept. 2, 1945. Reunification: July 2, 1976. New constitution: 1992. Branches: Executive--president (head of state and chair of National Defense and Security Council) and prime minister (heads cabinet of ministries and commissions); "People's Committees" governing in local jurisdictions. Legislative--National Assembly; locally, People's Councils. Judicial--Supreme People's Court. Administrative subdivisions: 50 provinces, 3 municipalities under central government control, one special zone; urban quarters and rural districts; urban precincts and rural communes. Political party: Vietnamese Communist Party, formerly (1951-76) Vietnam Worker's Party, itself the successor of the Indochinese Communist Party founded in 1930. Suffrage: Universal at 18. Economy GDP (1994): $15.4 billion. Real growth rate (1994): 8.8%. Per capita income (1994): $220. Natural resources: Phosphates, coal, manganese, bauxite, chromate, offshore oil deposits, forests, rubber, marine products. Agriculture (36% of GDP--38% of export earnings): Products--rice, rubber, fruit, vegetables, corn, manioc, sugar cane, coffee, fish. Industry (26% of GDP-- 34% of total exports): Food processing, textiles, cement, chemical fertilizers, steel, electric power. Trade (1994): Exports--$3.6 billion: crude oil, textiles, marine products, rice (third-largest exporter in world) and coal. Major partners--Japan (22%), Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea, and China. Imports--$4.5 billion: petroleum, steel products, transport-related equipment, chemicals, fertilizers, medicines, raw cotton. Major partners--Singapore (28%), Japan, South Korea, France, and Taiwan. Exports to U.S.--$50 million. Imports from U.S.--$172 million. U.S.-VIETNAM RELATIONS President Clinton announced the normalization of diplomatic relations with Vietnam on July 11, 1995. This followed the establishment of Liaison Offices in Hanoi and Washington, DC, in January 1995 and the lifting of the U.S. trade embargo on Vietnam in February 1994. American companies have entered the Vietnamese market, and the U.S. is now the eighth-largest foreign investor in Vietnam, with more than $530 million committed in 34 projects as of June 1995. The U.S. maintains an active dialogue with Vietnam on issues concerning Americans missing from the war in Vietnam. It has been U.S. policy since the early 1980s that normalization of relations with Vietnam be based on withdrawal of the Vietnamese military from Cambodia as part of a comprehensive political settlement--such a settlement was signed in October 1992--and continued cooperation on the prisoner of war/missing in action (POW/MIA) issue and other humanitarian concerns. In the 1980s, the United States and Vietnam developed and sustained an active relationship on a range of humanitarian issues, particularly on achieving the fullest accounting possible of Americans missing and unaccounted for in Indochina. The two countries agreed to handle these issues as a separate, humanitarian agenda, without reference to political differences. In June 1993, progress in repatriating the remains of American servicemen increased, and a Vietnamese Government office was established in Ho Chi Minh City to facilitate better accounting operations in the south. A month later, the U.S. dropped its objection to bilateral and multilateral lending to Vietnam. In 1994, based on significant cooperation on the part of the Vietnamese on POW/MIA issues, President Clinton removed the American trade embargo on Vietnam. Since the lifting of the embargo, cooperation with Vietnam on POW/MIA issues has increased. In January 1995, the two countries opened liaison offices in their respective capitals, and on July 11, President Clinton announced the establishment of diplomatic relations with Vietnam. Since January 1993, 167 sets of remains believed to be American have been returned to the U.S., and 42 Americans have been identified. Investigators have made a determination of the fate of 80 of 135 discrepancy cases--where individuals could have survived but did not return alive and remain unaccounted for--leaving only 55 individuals whose fates are unresolved. Achieving the fullest possible accounting for those who did not return from the war remains the administration's highest priority in its relations with Vietnam. Principal U.S. Embassy Officials Charge d'Affaires--Desaix Anderson The U.S. embassy in Hanoi is at 7 Lang Ha Road, and the mailing address is USLO Hanoi, PSC 461, Box 400, FPO AP 96521-0002 (tel. 844- 431-500 through 507; fax 844-350-484). GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS The most important political institution in Vietnam is the Communist Party of Vietnam (formerly the Vietnam Worker's Party), headed by General Secretary Do Muoi. Sweeping amendments to the country's 1981 constitution were approved in April 1992, introducing a major restructuring of the government while reaffirming the role of the Communist Party of Vietnam as the leading force of state and society. The Communist Party According to the constitution, the Communist Party must operate within the framework of the laws of the country and is separated from the day-to-day operation of the government. In reality, however, government policy remains largely the prerogative of the communist leadership. The Communist Party Central Committee membership is elected from the large and unwieldy national Party Congress, which is supposed to gather every five years and last met in 1991. The Central Committee represents less than 10% of the national Party Congress and meets about twice a year. Government policy is set by the all-powerful party Politburo and carried out by the Secretariat, the governmental organ which oversees day-to-day policy implementation. Many major policy directives are issued as Central Committee resolutions but are formulated by the Politburo; many others emanate directly from the Politburo. Overlapping party and state positions continue to be held even though there has been some effort to discourage both that practice and direct party interference in government affairs. All but six out of 17 party Politburo members held high positions in the government as of 1994, and 92% of the deputies in the National Assembly are party members. This is also the case at lower levels, where provincial, district, and village party officials dominate the administrative councils. Although the rate of new membership in the Communist Party has decreased since the 1980s, the party remains the dominant institution in Vietnamese society. Government Structure The most important powers within the Vietnamese Government--as opposed to the Communist Party--are the executive agencies: the offices of the president and the prime minister (most of whose members are also on the party's Central Committee). In 1992, the collective Council of State--which had served as the parliament's standing committee and whose chairman acted as ceremonial head of state--was abolished. It was replaced by an office of the president with authority over the armed forces and the power to recommend the dismissal of government officials (subject to the approval of the National Assembly). The revised constitution also replaced the cumbersome Council of Ministers with a cabinet headed by the prime minister. The Vietnamese President, Le Duc Anh, functions as head of state but also serves as commander of the armed forces and chairman of the Council on National Defense and Security. According to the constitution, these bodies, as well as the heads of ministries and commissions, are elected by the National Assembly. Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet heads a cabinet composed of three deputy prime ministers as well as the directors of the country's 31 ministries and commissions. Four members of the Prime Minister's cabinet are concurrently members of the Politburo. The National Assembly--which under the 1992 constitutional revisions was granted an increase in its authority and independence--is designated as the highest representative body of the people and the only body with legislative powers. Its members are elected every five years, and it meets twice yearly. The constitutional amendments of 1992 strengthened the legislative and oversight powers of the National Assembly, giving it more authority over defense and security policy and financial matters. The assembly's standing committee and permanent committees were granted new powers as well. The constitution also provided for choice in parliamentary election balloting, which, for the first time, permitted non-party members to be elected in 1992. Although the National Assembly theoretically exercises wide lawmaking and appointive authority, in the past, it has simply given formal approval to proposals from the executive organs. The chairman of the National Assembly is Nong Duc Manh, the first member of an ethnic minority to hold this post and the first to simultaneously command a position in the Politburo. Local legislative bodies, called People's Councils, are elected at provincial, district, and village levels. The councils choose administrative committees that handle routine business on the local level and are ultimately responsible to the office of the prime minister. Their function is more executive than legislative. Principal Officials General Secretary of the Communist Party--Do Muoi Prime Minister--Vo Van Kiet President--Le Duc Anh National Assembly Chairman--Nong Duc Manh The embassy of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is at 1233 20th St. NW, Suite 501, Washington, DC 20036 (tel. 202-861-0737; fax 202-861- 0917). TRAVEL AND BUSINESS INFORMATION The U.S. Department of State's Consular Information Program provides Travel Warnings and Consular Information Sheets. Travel Warnings are issued when the State Department recommends that Americans avoid travel to a certain country. Consular Information Sheets exist for all countries and include information on immigration practices, currency regulations, health conditions, areas of instability, crime and security, political disturbances, and the addresses of the U.S. posts in the subject country. They can be obtained by telephone at (202) 647-5225 or by fax at (202) 647-3000. To access the Consular Affairs Bulletin Board by computer, dial (202) 647-9225, via a modem with standard settings. Bureau of Consular Affairs' publications on obtaining passports and planning a safe trip aboard are available from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402, tel. (202) 783-3238. Emergency information concerning Americans traveling abroad may be obtained from the Office of Overseas Citizens Services at (202) 647- 5225. Travelers can check the latest health information with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia. A hotline at (404) 332-4559 gives the most recent health advisories, immunization recommendations or requirements, and advice on food and drinking water safety for regions and countries. A booklet entitled Health Information for International Travel (HHS publication number CDC-94-8280, price $7.00) is available from the U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20420, tel. (202) 512-1800. Information on travel conditions, visa requirements, currency and customs regulations, legal holidays, and other items of interest to travelers also may be obtained before your departure from a country's embassy and/or consulates in the U.S. (for this country, see "Principal Officials" listing in this publication). Upon their arrival in a country, U.S. citizens are encouraged to register at the U.S. embassy (see "Principal U.S. Embassy Officials" listing in this publication). This may help family members contact you en route in case of an emergency. Further Electronic Information: Consular Affairs Bulletin Board (CABB). Available by modem, the CABB provides Consular Information Sheets, Travel Warnings, and helpful information for travelers. Access at (202) 647-9225 is free of charge to anyone with a personal computer, modem, telecommunications software, and a telephone line. Department of State Foreign Affairs Network. Available on the Internet, DOSFAN provides timely, global access to official U.S. foreign policy information. Updated daily, DOSFAN includes Background Notes; Dispatch, the official weekly magazine of U.S. foreign policy; daily press briefings; directories of key officers of foreign service posts; etc. DOSFAN is accessible three ways on the Internet: Gopher: dosfan.lib.uic.edu URL: gopher://dosfan.lib.uic.edu/ WWW: http://dosfan.lib.uic.edu/dosfan.html U.S. Foreign Affairs on CD-ROM (USFAC). Published on a quarterly basis by the U.S. Department of State, USFAC archives information on the Department of State Foreign Affairs Network, and includes an array of official foreign policy information from 1990 to the present. Priced at $80 ($100 foreign), one-year subscriptions include four discs (MSDOS and Macintosh compatible) and are available from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, P.O. Box 37194, Pittsburgh, PA 15250-7954. To order, call (202) 512- 1800 or fax (202) 512-2250. Federal Bulletin Board (BBS). A broad range of foreign policy information also is carried on the BBS, operated by the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO). By modem, dial (202) 512-1387. For general BBS information, call (202) 512-1530. National Trade Data Bank (NTDB). Operated by the U.S. Department of Commerce, the NTDB contains a wealth of trade-related information, including Country Commercial Guides. It is available on the Internet (gopher.stat-usa.gov) and on CD-ROM. Call the NTDB Help-Line at (202) 482-1986 for more information. ======================================== Background Notes Series -- Published by the United States Department of State -- Bureau of Public Affairs -- Office of Public Communication -- Washington, DC -- Managing Editor: Peter A. Knecht Vietnam -- Department of State Publication 8955 -- August 1995 -- Editor: Marilyn J. Bremner This material is in the public domain and may be reprinted without permission; citation of this source is appreciated. For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402. (###)