Home pagePress CenterIn the Media Derek Mitchell, a senior fellow with the CSIS Internaternational National Security Program, was quoted by the Washington Post, "Vietnamese Premier Meets with Bush, Gates."
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Derek Mitchell, a senior fellow with the CSIS Internaternational National Security Program, was quoted by the Washington Post, "Vietnamese Premier Meets with Bush, Gates."
President Bush met with the prime minister of Vietnam yesterday to discuss closer ties on trade and greater religious freedom, signifying another step forward in the slow warming of relations between the United States and its communist former enemy.
Derek Mitchell, a Southeast Asia expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said U.S. officials treat religious freedom and other human rights concerns as part of broader negotiations with Vietnam that are focused on improving trade and economic ties.
"It's being dealt with in a way similar to China, which is as part of a dialogue and not front and center," Mitchell said. "It's a very careful, step-by-step move forward in the relationship, but each step is substantial."
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