Vietnam welcomes new Myanmar prime minister

Nov 9, 2007, 10:53 GMT

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.