Biden says ‘head of Vietnam desperately wants to meet’ so he will visit Southeast Asia ‘shortly’

‘He wants to elevate us to a major partner, along with Russia and China,’ the US president said, in reference to Vietnam’s Communist Party chief

Biden plans to travel to India next month for a G20 summit. The White House declined to confirm his Southeast Asian travel plans

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US President Joe Biden has said he will travel to Vietnam “shortly” because the country wants to elevate its relationship with the United States. Photo: AFP/Getty Images/TNS

Published: 12:33pm, 9 Aug 2023

US President Joe Biden has said he will travel to Vietnam “shortly” because the country wants to elevate its relationship with the United States and become a major partner.

Biden made the remarks on Tuesday local time while speaking at a political fundraiser in New Mexico.

Asked about Biden’s announcement, the White House said there was “nothing further to share at this time”.

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.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (left) meets Vietnam’s Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong in Hanoi in April. Photo: AFP

Blinken had expressed the hope then that this could happen “in the weeks and months ahead”.

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