Hanoi - Vietnamese dignitaries greeted Myanmar's new prime
minister, General Thein Sein, on Friday as he arrived for a two-day
visit as part of a tour of neighbouring countries after taking office
last month.
Thein Sein, who represents Myanmar's ruling military junta that
recently crushed anti-government protests, was greeted by a military
honour guard and later held talks with Vietnamese Prime Minister
Nguyen Tan Dung and President Nguyen Minh Triet.
Triet briefly mentioned Myanmar's strife as 'difficulties' during
welcome remarks.
'Vietnam shares the difficulties that Myanmar is facing and hopes
Myanmar will overcome them some,' the Vietnamese president said. 'I
hope the situation in Myanmar will soon be settled.'
Vietnamese government spokesman a day earlier had urged 'dialogue'
between the junta and opposition parties.
Vietnam, which also stifles any challenge to one-party rule, had a
media blackout on reporting about the demonstrations by thousands of
monks and pro-democracy activists in Myanmar as well as the
subsequent crackdown.
Thein Sein offered greetings from junta chief Senior General Than
Shwe and extended an invitation to visit Myanmar.
The two sides were expected to discuss enhancing trade ties.
Two-way trade is still miniscule, at 70 million dollars a year but is
growing at 15-20 per cent annually, according to Vietnamese
statistics.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
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