- In a bid to raise the level of its relations with Vietnam, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit Vietnam next week
- While currently in Hanoi, US Senator Jeff Merkley confirmed to reporters that Blinken will arrive in Vietnam within days
- Blinken’s visit will follow U.S. President Joe Biden’s phone call last week with the chief of Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party, Nguyen Phu Trong
HANOI, Vietnam: In a bid to raise the level of its relations with Vietnam, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit Vietnam next week.
While currently in Hanoi, US Senator Jeff Merkley confirmed to reporters that Blinken will arrive in Vietnam within days.
Blinken’s visit will follow U.S. President Joe Biden’s phone call last week with the chief of Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party, Nguyen Phu Trong.
The United States is using the 10th anniversary of its comprehensive partnership with Vietnam as a pretext for Blinken’s visit.
It is believed that Blinken will arrive Vietnam, likely on the weekend, prior to his attending a meeting of foreign ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) countries in Japan on April 16-18.
In their earlier phone call, Biden and Trong agreed to jointly boost ties, though no announcement has been made about an upgrading of relations.
Even as the United States remains Vietnam’s largest export market, the US is currently ranked as a third-tier diplomatic partner for Hanoi. Vietnam’s most important relations are with China, Russia, India and South Korea.
