Biden to visit Hanoi next month in effort to strengthen ties with Vietnam

US President Joe Biden is going to Vietnam next month to meet with General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and other Vietnamese leaders, the White House announced.

Biden will travel to Hanoi on September 10, for a one-day visit to the Vietnamese capital after attending the annual summit of the Group of 20 leaders in India, AP reports.

“The leaders will explore opportunities to promote the growth of Vietnam’s economy focused on
technology and innovation, expand our people-to-people ties through educational exchanges and
workforce development programs, combat climate change, and increase peace, prosperity, and stability in the region,” said White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.

The announcement comes after Biden hinted at a possible visit. At a campaign reception on July 29 in Freeport, Maine, he said the Vietnamese leader wanted to meet him. He then told donors at a reception in New Mexico earlier this month that he would “soon go to Vietnam because Vietnam wants to change our relationship and become a partner.”

“I got a call from the head of Vietnam, he desperately wants to meet with me when I go to the G20,” Biden said then.

“He wants to elevate us to a major partner, along with Russia and China. What do you think that’s about? No, I’m not kidding,” he added.

Earlier this year, Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Vietnam a few weeks after the 50th anniversary of the withdrawal of US troops that marked the end of America’s direct military engagement in Vietnam. He promised to take relations to a new level. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen also traveled to Hanoi in July.

Diplomatic relations between the US and Vietnam were only restored in 1995.