President and General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam To Lam is scheduled to visit the United States next week, with plans to meet with representatives of leading technology corporations such as Google and Meta, according to Reuters. This is Mr. Lam’s first visit to the United States since he took office as General Secretary in early August this year.
Facebook parent company Meta has a large user base in Vietnam, a country with a population of about 100 million. Google is also expanding its presence in the country, manufacturing smartphones through suppliers and planning to build a major data center there, according to Reuters.
Lam is expected to have separate meetings with representatives from Google and Meta during his visit. However, details of the discussions between the two sides have not been disclosed. He will also attend a business forum with US companies on September 23, according to the source. The US-ASEAN Business Council (USABC), which is organizing the event, has not disclosed the list of attendees.
Major US corporations such as AES (electricity), Boeing (aviation), Mastercard (payments), and Amazon, among others, have shown keen interest in Vietnam in recent business delegations. The Southeast Asian country is emerging as a major manufacturing hub and important market for many US companies, especially as they seek to reduce their dependence on China.
In addition to business meetings, Lam is scheduled to address the United Nations General Assembly on September 22-23, where global leaders will be in attendance. Columbia University has also announced an event featuring him on September 23 in New York. After the United States, Lam will travel to Cuba and is scheduled to make a state visit to France in early October.
The US and Vietnam upgraded diplomatic relations last year, reflecting Vietnam’s strategic importance in reducing its dependence on Chinese manufacturing. Washington is also looking to increase cooperation with Hanoi in sensitive areas such as submarine cable manufacturing and other high-tech industries.
However, it is still unclear whether To Lam will meet with US President Joe Biden during this trip. A White House spokesman declined to comment on Lam but confirmed that President Biden plans to meet with a number of world leaders at the United Nations. Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Office of the President have not yet made official comments on this visit.