Senator Jeff Merkley told a press conference in Hanoi on Saturday that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit Vietnam next week as part of Washington’s attempts to improve relations with Hanoi this year.
Blinken’s unannounced visit would follow U.S. President Joseph Biden’s phone discussion with Vietnam’s Communist Party leader Nguyen Phu Trong last week.
The U.S. wants to improve relations with Hanoi this year to celebrate its 10-year comprehensive partnership with Vietnam in July.
“Next week the Secretary of State will be here,” Senator Merkley told reporters during a U.S. congressional delegation’s visit to Vietnam to improve relations with Hanoi.
Blinken will likely visit Vietnam on Saturday before attending the G7 foreign ministers’ conference in Tokyo on April 16-18.
According to their remarks following the call, Biden and Trong agreed to strengthen relationships, although no official upgrading was mentioned.
Before the call, experts claimed Vietnam was wary of upgrading this year because it may irritate China.
Vietnam’s greatest export market, the US, is Hanoi’s third-tier diplomatic partner. Washington wants to join its second tier, European nations, and Japan. Its top tier includes China, Russia, India, and South Korea.
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