S.F. to Become Sister City With Ho Chi Minh City

San Francisco has agreed on sister city status with Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, a symbolic relationship that local officials also hope will bring economic benefits.

The link is the first between cities in Vietnam and the United States and is the result of two years of increasingly formal talks. The actual signing will occur the weekend of April 8, when Mayor Frank Jordan flies to Ho Chi Minh City, the largest city in the communist nation of 72 million people.

"This is a great day for me to hear the city say we are partners," said Vu Duc Vuong of the Southeast Asian Chamber of Commerce in San Francisco. "The United States' relationship with Vietnam has always been with a client state in the south or an enemy state in the north."

Lingering wounds from the Vietnam War delayed the possibility of ties until last year, when President Clinton ended a trade embargo with America's former foe. Even now, hostility from American veterans and Vietnamese refugees has forced several cities to approach relationships with Vietnam gingerly.

San Francisco has shown no such hesitation, however. As part of the city's overture, Jordan visited Vietnam in November. He also cut the ribbon at a Vietnam trade fair here last fall, attracting protests from Vietnamese Americans now living in the South Bay and Southern California.

"I'm proud to be in this position," Jordan said yesterday. Referring to concerns about such issues as the full accounting for American soldiers missing in action, he said, "The best way to deal with problems is to have better communication and friendship. . . . Let's be a role model."

The Vietnamese community in San Francisco is more accepting of change than others, Vuong suggested.

"There have been complaints, but nothing substantial," Vuong said. "Half of the local community is under 25 years old. To them, the Vietnam War is history. They want to move on."

The arrangement has ingredients beyond the sister city link of San Francisco and Ho Chi Minh City, the former Saigon:

-- Vietnam will establish a consulate here after the two nations reach full diplomatic relations.

-- Each city will open a trade office in the other city by within a month.

-- Vietnam Airlines will begin flying into San Francisco International Airport.

-- San Francisco will help install a cable car in Ho Chi Minh City Park.

Jordan's trip next week will be paid for by private donations. Besides a handful of city employees, businesspeople will travel east looking to turn the new ties into a solid market.

"We are not soldiers anymore, we're businessmen," said Mike Blackwell, a private consultant who served in Vietnam and is a member of the Disabled American Veterans Business Owners, a local trade group. "Vietnam is an emerging nation and a potentially excellent market for our goods."