ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION)<br/> <br />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.<br/> <br />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.<br/> <br />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.<br/> <br />Chilean exports to Vietnam include copper, minerals and wine, while Vietnam exports seafood, garments and footwear to Chile.<br/> <br />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.<br/> <br />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.<br/> <br />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.
