Vietnam signed an agreement with the United States to

The United States and Vietnam signed an agreement Tuesday that may pave the way for U.S. firms to help build nuclear plants in the Southeast Asian country as it strives to meet booming energy demand. The new agreement addresses nuclear safety and nonproliferation concerns and is a prerequisite to a deal that could allow companies like Westinghouse and General Electric to participate in Vietnam’s nuclear energy sector. Vietnam’s demand for power is expected to grow by 16 percent a year until 2015, according to government projections, and the country’s booming economy has made it difficult for supply to keep pace with demand. Vietnam_has already signed nuclear energy cooperation agreements with Russia, China, France, South Korea, India and Argentina.