Albright to Press Hanoi on Reforms

HANOI — America's top diplomat began a visit to Vietnam on Thursday aimed at strengthening ties between the former foes and underscoring the need for Hanoi to push forward more quickly with economic reforms.

"We have been able to normalize our political relations with Vietnam . . . and we now want to lay greater stress on normalizing and moving forward in our economic relations," Secretary of State Madeleine Albright told reporters on her flight from the U.S.

During official talks, she said, she will urge Vietnamese leaders to speed cooperation with a program dealing with Vietnamese refugees from the former war in Indochina and to take steps to negotiate a trade agreement with the United States.

She will meet with Foreign Minister Nguyen Manh Cam and Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet in Hanoi today.