President Joe Biden will travel to Hanoi, Vietnam, on September 10 following the Group of 20 summit in India to meet with General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and other leaders, according to the White House.
“The leaders will explore opportunities to promote the growth of a technology-focused and innovation-driven Vietnamese economy, expand our people-to-people ties through education exchanges and workforce development programs, combat climate change, and increase peace, prosperity, and stability in the region,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.
Biden’s trip to Vietnam comes as his administration works to counter China’s influence in the Indo-Pacific region and after he said earlier this month that he would soon visit Hanoi “to change our relationship,” comments that reflected the current era of tension in Asia.
The president is working to shore up US alliances and relationships in the region. As part of these efforts, the US last year launched the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework with Australia, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines and Singapore.
“We have a very good relationship with Vietnam, and that relationship is improving, and it is improving across lots of sectors – in the security world, certainly diplomatically, and even economically, and so, we’re going to continue to look for opportunities to improve that relationship, and it’s a critical one in a very critical part of the world,” National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters at the beginning of August.
The president will then travel to Alaska, where he will mark the 22nd anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks in a memorial ceremony with members of the military and their families.
