Bush, Vietnam leader sign religious accord

WASHINGTON - As protesters gathered outside to demand that Vietnam respect human and religious rights, President Bush and Vietnam's prime minister met Tuesday at the White House where Bush afterwards noted that Vietnam had agreed to ensure greater religious freedom.

The president also said he had accepted an invitation to Vietnam in 2006 for a summit of Pacific Rim leaders.

The visit by Prime Minister Phan Van Khai was the first by a leader of communist Vietnam to the White House.

The two leaders talked about Vietnam’s desire to join the World Trade Organization, business issues, human rights and signed an agreement that Bush said would make it easier for people to worship freely in Vietnam.

"We signed a landmark agreement that will make it easier for people to worship freely in Vietnam," Bush told reporters, without elaborating.

Khai noted that Vietnam's 80 million consumers "means a huge market for American businesses," adding that his government's goal is to create "a strong country with wealthy people and a democratic and advanced society."

Weeklong visit
The 71-year-old Vietnamese leader met Bush in the Oval Office as part of a weeklong visit to the United States. He'll also meet with business leaders and ring the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange — evidence of Vietnam’s economic gains over the years.

Karen Bleier / AFP - Getty Images Some 200 protesters, most of them Vietnamese Americans, rally outside the White House Tuesday as President Bush and Vietnamese Prime Minister Phan Van Khai meet inside. Shouting "Van Khai terrorist" and "Van Khai go home, you are a liar," some tried to block Khai's limousine as it entered the White House.

Earlier White House press secretary Scott McClellan said the president would talk about business as well as human rights.

“The United States strongly supports Vietnam’s integration into the world economic community and its bid to join the World Trade Organization,” he said Monday. “They will also use this as an opportunity to work to address religious freedom and human rights concerns.”

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a former Navy pilot who spent nearly six years in Vietnamese prisons after his plane was shot down during the Vietnam War, said Tuesday on NBC's "Today" show that Vietnam had made sufficient economic progress to warrant inclusion in the WTO. But, he added, the United States expects progress in other areas, such as human rights.

FREE VIDEO McCain interview June 21: Sen. John McCain talks with "Today" show anchor Matt Lauer about Vietnam's economic and political development. Today show

“We have every right to expect the Vietnamese to make significant improvements in human rights and religious freedom,” said McCain, who expects to meet with Khai on Wednesday.

“They have taken some steps," he added, but "our message throughout the world is that we expect progress toward democratic freedom, human rights, elections and all the trappings of democracy.”

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