Pelosi Welcomes Vietnamese President Triet to the Capitol

Washington, D.C. - Speaker Nancy Pelosi and bipartisan House Leaders and Members welcomed Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet to the Capitol this afternoon.  Below are her remarks before the meeting began:

'It is my pleasure, as Speaker of the House, to welcome the President of Vietnam to the Capitol of the United States.  He is the first President of Vietnam to visit since the normalization of relations between our two countries.

'We look forward to having a serious discussion of issues raised by many of our Members relating to democracy in Vietnam, about our trade relationship, and other issues that the President wishes to discuss.

'On behalf of the entire Congress, Mr. President, I am pleased to welcome you.  I'm now pleased to yield to the distinguished House Republican Whip, Mr. Blunt.'