As a home-grown journalist with broken English, I never thought that one day I could clink a glass of Californian wine with Ambassador Marine, representative of the powerful United States of America. It was a coincidence among hundreds of informal outings of the Ambassador in Vietnam.
In mid-September, Journalist Si Cu, Editor-in-Chief of Vietnam Business Forum asked me to join him in a party introducing California wine to Au Co Road, Tay Ho District. In a small, modest restaurant like most others in Hanoi, there was almost nothing new that evening except some American businessmen coming to Vietnam to introduce California wines. The wine is made from grapes grown in sunny California, where a big Vietnamese community set up Little Saigon.
Opening the party, Mr Donald Berger, representative of the Vine Group, introduced the American products. He said that the grapes were planted in 46 out of 58 districts of California with a total area of 214,000 hectares, an impressive figure. Compared to Thanh Hoa, the province famous for its large sugar cane area supplying materials to Lam Son sugar refinery with 18,000 hectares, the grape area in California is 12 times bigger.
Mr Berger added that California is leading other States in wine production, accounting for 90 per cent of US output (200 million barrels). California ranks fourth among the world wine producers, after France, Italy and Spain.
While Mr Berger continued his introduction, Ambassador Marine appeared quietly without escorts. Like others, he picked up a glass, going around toasting with all the guests, and cameramen never missed the chance to take snap shots. Knowing me as a reporter, after clinking the glass, he asked how I found American wine. Excellent, I said. In our conversation, the Ambassador referred to many business opportunities between the US and Vietnam. He also believed that Vietnamese people, after acquainting themselves with American wine, will have more choice at their dinners.
Hearing the announcement for the American Ambassador to take the floor, he excused himself and went up to the podium. After expressing sincere greetings, the Ambassador told the audience, “You may be proud of what you have done. Within a decade, you have made this city, a place once without foreign food or high-class hotels, into an attractive destination for both foreign tourists and entrepreneurs”.
After expressing fine remarks on Vietnam and thanking the guests for tasting American wine, the Ambassador said: “In the past, even in the US, American wine was little known. However, thanks to the application of advanced technology from the most famous vineyards, American wine has become one of the leading wines in the world. The diversity in climate and grape types can meet the demand of Vietnamese market in both quality and variety of wine”.
A friend whispered to my ear, “I think Mr Marine is not only an Ambassador, but also an expert in marketing”. I hardly had time to share the comment of my friend when the Ambassador continued: “Today, Mr Berger will also invite you to some food. I wish to draw your attention to the fact that they are made from American beef and pork. Perhaps you also know that Vietnam has permitted the import of American beef and you will have more choice of high quality foods for your clients.”
Concluding the short speech, the Ambassador made another round as a businessman marketing the product. I suggested having a picture with him, the Ambassador agreed and asked Mr Berger to join - with a glass of wine in hand.
During some trips abroad, I visited Vietnamese Embassies and found that they had little knowledge about Vietnamese business activities in those countries. It seems Vietnamese diplomats focus more on political issues. Some even said that they are not concerned about economic issues.
Speaking to the press on the occasion of 60th anniversary of the foundation of Vietnamese diplomacy, Mr Nguyen Dy Nien, then Foreign Minister said, “With the fierce competition of knowledge-based economies, Vietnamese diplomats must be both economists and culturists”. Naturally, it will take time for Vietnamese diplomats to become economists. For his part, Dr Le Dang Doanh said that not only Mr Marine, but all Western diplomats are economists; they are experts in marketing their products. It partly explains why their countries are more prosperous than Vietnam.
Phan The Hai
Vietnamese
