U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will visit Vietnam as part of a five-country trip to the Middle East and Southeast Asia next week, the Department of State said Monday.

Secretary Kerry will visit Hanoi from August 6 to 8, where he will meet with senior Vietnamese officials, including Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh, to “discuss bilateral and regional issues,” department spokesperson John Kirby said in a statement issued from Washington, D.C.

The top U.S. diplomat will also participate in an event marking the 20th anniversary of the normalization of Vietnam-U.S. diplomatic relations.

Vietnam is the last stop of the secretary’s trip to countries in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, including Egypt, Qatar, Singapore and Malaysia.

Secretary Kerry is scheduled to start the five-country tour in Cairo, Egypt on August 2 to co-chair the U.S.-Egypt Strategic Dialogue with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, according to the statement.

On August 3, he will travel to Doha, Qatar, to meet with the foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

The U.S. secretary will meet with Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Foreign Minister K. Shanmugam on August 4 to discuss bilateral and regional issues as Singapore marks 50 years of independence.

He will then visit Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from August 4 to 6, to attend the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), before heading for Hanoi.

In late 2013 Kerry made his first Vietnam visit as the top U.S. diplomat.

He was in the Southeast Asian country for three days, from December 14 to 16, 2013 to partake in many activities.

Kerry, a naval lieutenant with the U.S. Navy from 1966 to 1970, served during the war in Vietnam, and returned to the country in 2000 as part of a delegation led by then-U.S. President Bill Clinton.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!