United States: US President Joe Biden is to discuss various issues with Vietnam’s President and the chief of the ruling Communist party, To Lam, on Wednesday, as the White House reported on Sunday.
The meeting, which was disclosed by Reuters, is to be held on the side-line of the UN general assembly in New York.
Biden has been particularly keen on strengthening cooperation with the crucial South-Eastern European nation and manufacturing powerhouse partly in an effort to rebalance against Russia and China, with whom Vietnam continues to maintain relations, as reported by Reuters.
Recent US-Vietnam Agreements
In September, Biden traveled to Vietnam, signed agreements on semiconductors and minerals, and raised the status of Vietnam to ‘strategic partner’ alongside China and Russia.
Lam, who was named in early August as head of the party – the most powerful job in the country- will address the UN event and discuss some issues with representatives of several U.S. corporations, including Google and Meta, according to Reuters.
Before the planned visit by To Lam to the United States, the authorities in the communist oriented Vietnamese government had freed several well-known activists before their full term in jail was complete, as informed by several sources to Reuters.
Release of Vietnamese Activists
They are Tran Huynh Duy Thuc, who was given 16 years imprisonment for subversion in January this year, and filmmaker Hoang Thi Minh Hong, who was given a 3-year imprisonment for tax evasion in September last year, as reported by Reuters.
In addition, Lam’s trip also takes him to Cuba, Vietnam’s long-term ally in the communism.