U.S. President Joe Biden will pay an official visit to Vietnam on September 10 and 11 at the invitation of Vietnamese Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, Pham Thu Hang, spokesperson of the Vietnamese foreign ministry, announced on Tuesday.

Visits by top officials of the two nations will deepen the Vietnam-U.S. partnership, and make bilateral ties stable and long-lasting, contributing to peace, stability, and growth in the world, said Hang.

President Biden will travel to Hanoi on September 10 to start his two-day visit to Vietnam, and meet with top Vietnamese officials to discuss ways to further bolster the cooperation between Vietnam and the United States, according to a statement released by the White House on Monday.

"The leaders will explore opportunities to promote the growth of a technology-focused and innovation-driven Vietnamese economy, expand our people-to-people ties through education exchanges and workforce development programs, combat climate change, and increase peace, prosperity, and stability in the region," the statement reads.

Vietnam and the United States established diplomatic ties in 1995, and upgraded their relations to a comprehensive partnership in 2013.

President Biden’s visit is aimed at marking the 10th anniversary of the Vietnam-U.S. comprehensive partnership.

U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Marc Knapper said in a recent interview with Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that about one-fourth of the U.S. cabinet members had visited Vietnam over the past eight months.

Five ministerial-level delegations of the United States had traveled to Vietnam as of the start of 2023. The most recent visit was made by U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in July.

This will be President Biden's first visit to Vietnam since he took office in 2021. 

After the two nations set up diplomatic ties, President Bill Clinton visited Vietnam in November 2000, followed by George W. Bush in November 2006 and Barack Obama in May 2016.

President Donald Trump paid two visits to Vietnam, in November 2017 to attend the 2017 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum held in Da Nang City and in February 2019 for a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

The United States is one of Vietnam’s biggest trade partners and is the latter’s top buyer with a value at over US$100 billion.

Two-way trade skyrocketed to more than $123 billion in 2022 from $451 million.

Bilateral ties have flourished in numerous fields over the years, Hang said at a regular press briefing in Hanoi on August 17.

Vietnam and the United States are discussing ways to deepen their partnership and potentially reach a higher-level relationship if conditions are conducive, she underlined.

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