CANBERRA , Australia, May 5 (UPI) -- Vietnamese Prime Minister Phan Van Khai Thursday said he plans to be the senior-most leader to visit the United States since the end of the war in 1975. "This is the first ever visit by a leader of a unified Vietnam to the United States," he said at a news conference in Canberra, according to Radio Australia. Ties have been improving since a historic visit to Vietnam in 2000 by President Clinton. The visit in June will be the first by a Vietnamese leader to the United States since U.S. troops withdrew from the Asian country in 1975. In Washington , John Hanford, ambassador-at-large for International Religious Freedom, said the two countries had signed an agreement on religious freedom. In recent weeks , Vietnam has taken key steps, including freeing religious prisoners and reopening some churches, he said. Last year , Washington in its annual religious freedom report , listed Vietnam as a "country of particular concern." Hanford said Vietnam would continue to remain on the list , but would be removed when it meets commitments undertaken in Thursday's deal.

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