Vietnam's President Nguyen Minh Triet was to continue on Tuesday his six-day visit to the United States, the first trip by a post-war head of state to the ex-battlefield enemy nation.
Triet, who arrived Monday, is scheduled to ring the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday in an attempt to demonstrate economic reforms in Southeast Asia's rapidly growing state.
He is also expected to attend business meetings and hold talks with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
Accompanied by cabinet ministers and a business delegation, the president was greeted on arrival by senior American and Vietnamese officials at the John F. Kennedy International Airport, diplomats said.
He is scheduled to meet US President George W. Bush on Friday at the White House, where the two leaders will oversee the signing of an agreement that aims to pave the way for an eventual free trade pact.
House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi will lead a bipartisan group of lawmakers for a meeting with Triet, with human rights expected to top the agenda, Congressional staffers said.
"A key focus of his discussions will be human rights," said the office of Ed Royce, a lawmaker from Bush's Republican party who will among at the meeting on Thursday.
Triet's visit has been clouded by a series of arrests and trials of dissidents in the communist country, and the White House has indicated Bush will express his "deep concern" to Triet.
When the two leaders meet, Vietnamese-American pro-democracy groups are planning large protests outside the White House against Hanoi's alleged human rights abuses.
Vietnam released two prominent pro-democracy activists shortly before the trip, which has been hailed by both sides as a key step in normalizing relations between the two countries after their war in the 1960s and 70s.
Triet is the first head of state of reunified, communist Vietnam to visit the United States since the end of the Vietnam war. Former prime minister Phan Van Khai became the first government leader to visit in 2005.
Aside from Washington and New York, Triet is to visit Los Angeles in the west coast state of California, where most of the 1.1 million Vietnamese-Americans live.
Vietnam, long politically isolated in the region, is expected to join the UN Security Council as a non-permanent member next year.
But business and trade are expected to top the agenda during Triet's maiden visit, with major business deals ready to be sealed in the energy, telecommunications, information technology, financial services and other sectors.
Seattle-based aircraft maker Boeing has been in talks to sell 787 long-haul jets to Vietnam Airlines, which would allow the state-run carrier to modernise its fleet and make non-stop flights to the United States.
Triet's trip follows Bush's November visit to Vietnam, which joined the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in January.
