Crowds in Ho Chi Minh City bid farewell as Obama’s visit ends

May 26, 2016 | 09:07

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Thousands of local residents stood along the streets to bid farewell to U.S. President Barack Obama as the presidential car The Beast brought him to an airport in Ho Chi Minh City, after concluding a three-day visit to Vietnam on Wednesday.

People wave Vietnamese and U.S. flags as the motorcade of President Barack Obama travels past a street in Ho Chi Minh City on May 25, 2016.<br /><span>Tuoi Tre</span>

People wave Vietnamese and U.S. flags as the motorcade of President Barack Obama travels past a street in Ho Chi Minh City on May 25, 2016.-Tuoi Tre Prev Next

The locals waited on several streets which they knew Obama’s motorcade would travel by, waving hands and Vietnamese and American flags to say goodbye to the U.S. leader.

President Obama left Tan Son Nhat International Airport at 1:00 pm for Japan, after hosting an inspiring town hall with 800 young leaders of the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSALI) at 11:00 am.

The talk was the last official activity of Obama in Vietnam, who arrived in Hanoi late Sunday and came to Ho Chi Minh City on Tuesday afternoon.

In Hanoi, Obama met with Vietnam’s top leaders, including State President Tran Dai Quang, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and head of Vietnam’s legislature Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan.

President Obama joined his Vietnamese counterpart in a conference on Monday, during which he announced the U.S. will fully lift anembargo on sales of lethal arms to Vietnam. The U.S. head of state also paid a visit to the residence of late President Ho Chi Minh City, ate the flagship Hanoi noodle bun cha for dinner, and delivered a great speech in front of more than 2,000 Vietnamese before leaving for Ho Chi Minh City on Tuesday.

Upon arrival to the southern metropolis, Obama visited a century-old pagoda and attended an entrepreneurship event, where he emceed a talk with three outstanding Vietnamese entrepreneurs. Obama continued to inspire the YSALI leaders before his departure on Wednesday afternoon.

Obama’s trip to Vietnam was a success, with a joint statement released on Monday, in which Vietnam and the U.S. were committed to working together to advance the comprehensive partnership they established in 2013 in various fields.