President Obama’s visit spurs partnership

Photo source AFP

Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) and the White House officially announced last week that US President Barack Obama will make his first visit to Vietnam from May 23-25.

A press release from the White House said that “President Obama will hold official meetings with Vietnam’s leadership to discuss ways for the US-Vietnam Comprehensive Partnership to advance co-operation across a wide range of areas, including economic, people-to-people, security, human rights, and global and regional issues”.

In Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, Obama will deliver speeches on US-Vietnam relations, while during meetings, he will discuss the importance of approving the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) this year. He will also meet with members of civil society, the Young Southeast Asian Leadership Initiative, and the business community.

According to the MoFA, Obama will hold bilateral talks with State President Tran Dai Quang, in addition to meetings with Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. Obama is also expected to meet with National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan.

A joint statement will be released, highlighting the two countries’ long-term co-operation in trade, investment, science and technology, education and training, and climate change.

It is expected that during this visit, Obama may declare the lifting of a lethal weapon embargo on Vietnam. Last October, Obama eased the ban on lethal arms sales to Vietnam. This visit is also expected to see the licencing of the construction of the Fulbright University in Vietnam.

Leaders from both sides are hopeful that the two countries can further cement their co-operation in education and training. Currently, about 28,000 Vietnamese students are studying in the US.

Several co-operation deals are expected to be made during this visit, including lucrative deals between VietJet and Boeing, and between General Electric and a Vietnamese partner.

Obama’s visit to Vietnam has received positive feedback from US firms in Vietnam. Sesto Vecchi, managing partner of US law firm Russin & Vecchi, also told VIR that “Obama's visit will be a further marker for Americans to understand that Vietnam is a welcoming destination for investment and travel.”

Nguyen Viet Ha, managing director of US-backed investment consultant BowerGroupAsia Inc., said this visit “will help strengthen American firms’ confidence in Vietnam”.

“For example, the licensing for the construction of the Fulbright University will help

attract more US education developers to enter Vietnam,” Ha told VIR.

Eric Yeo, country general manager of IBM Vietnam, also told VIR that “This visit creates the certainty of Vietnam’s importance on the global stage, and that “The positive climate of this visit will certainly spur more confidence and investment not only from American firms, but also from many other firms around the world”.

“I would expect that the discussions on bilateral trade will accelerate Vietnam’s actions towards relaxing foreign investment rules and attract more foreign investment,” Yeo said, adding that discussions on the implementation of the TPP would also create a positive climate for investment in Vietnam.