January 11, 2006	Wednesday	Zilhaj 10, 1426

HANOI, Jan 10: A high-level US delegation will visit Vietnam next week for critical talks on the communist nation’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), officials said on Tuesday.

Vietnam wanted to join the trade body during its last ministerial meeting in Hong Kong in December but it had not signed several necessary bilateral agreements, including with Australia and the United States.

Previous talks notably failed to reach a breakthrough on key areas such as agriculture tariffs, telecommunications, export subsidies and market access for services companies.

“There will be discussions next week here in Hanoi,” a US embassy spokesman said without elaborating.

A Vietnamese official said the talks would run January 16-18th. “The American business community is happy to see both sides sitting together to work out these issues,” said Adam Sitkoff, executive director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Hanoi.

“Amcham strongly supports and encourages Vietnam’s accession at the earliest possible date, provided Vietnam guarantees fair market access and national treatment to US firms,” he said.

Some analysts believe this round of negotiations could be decisive.—AFP