Joe Biden to visit Vietnam in September, White House says

US president Joe Biden is set to travel to Vietnam on September 10, the White House said. As per the schedule, the US president will meet General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and other key leaders “to discuss ways to further deepen cooperation between the United States and Vietnam.”

“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,” the White House said in a statement.

Earlier this month, Joe Biden had said that he would be traveling to Vietnam "shortly" because the country wanted to elevate its relationship with the United States and become a major partner. At a meeting in April, Vietnamese prime minister Pham Minh Chinh and US secretary of state Antony Blinken expressed a desire to deepen ties as Washington seeks to solidify relations with partners in Asia to counter an increasingly assertive China.

Antony Blinken had expressed the hope then that this could happen "in the weeks and months ahead." US has been working to elevate ties with Vietnam to a "strategic" partnership from one that for the past decade has been called "comprehensive," although Vietnam has been cautious, given the risk of antagonizing China.

Joe Biden had also said in July that he got a call from the "head of Vietnam" who "desperately wants to meet with me when I go to the G20," referring to his plans to travel to India for a summit of the grouping due to be held in New Delhi on Sept. 9-10.

"He wants to elevate us to a major partner, along with Russia and China," Joe Biden said then.

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