Chile's Pinera visits Vietnam

ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION)

STORY: Chilean President Sebastian Pinera started the first day of his Asian tour in Vietnam on Thursday (March 22), aiming to strengthen ties with the Southeast Asian country.

Pinera was welcomed by his Vietnamese counterpart Truong Tan Sang and later met with Vietnam's top leaders including Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and Party Chief Nguyen Phu Trong.

Both countries are part of the Trans-Pacific Partnership- an agreement aimed at making the Asia-Pacific region a free-trade zone. Sang and Pinera signed a framework agreement for a two-way free trade deal during the APEC meeting, held in Hawaii November 2011.

Chilean exports to Vietnam include copper, minerals and wine, while Vietnam exports seafood, garments and footwear to Chile.

Pinera visited the Temple of Literature, Vietnam 's first university, built in the 11th century. He also enjoyed a performance of traditional Vietnamese music before heading to a meeting with Vietnam 's Communist Party Chief Nguyen Phu Trong.

Chile and Vietnam established political relationship in 1971. The combined two-way trade volume has been up by more than 30 percent every year for the past two years.

Pinera will visit UNESCO-listed Halong Bay during his 5 day stay in Vietnam. He will then join U.S. President Obama in Seoul for a nuclear security summit before leaving for Japan for a 4 day visit.