It's time to see if the meme-based premonitions will carry their weight now that US President Barack Obama has touched down in Hanoi.
According to a transcript from a White House press briefing on May 20, President Obama will kick-off his trip with a bilateral meeting with the President Tran Dai Quang later today, followed by a joint press conference.
Obama will then meet with the new head of Vietnam’s National Assembly before attending meetings with Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Nguyen Phu Trong, General Secretary of the Community Party of Vietnam.
In the phone statement, National Security Advisor Deputy Spokesperson Mark Stroh said that the bilateral meetings will cover:
“…a very robust agenda that will include a range of issues, including the cooperation that we pursued to complete the TPP negotiations; our significant efforts to promote greater commercial ties that benefit growth and job creation in both of our countries; the discussion that we've had on regional security issues, both bilaterally and through ASEAN, which addresses many issues to include cooperation on areas like maritime security and disaster response; and our commitment to the peaceful resolution of disputes in the region; and our emerging and growing people-to-people ties and cooperation in areas like education and entrepreneurship.”
Before departing for Saigon on Tuesday, May 24, President Obama will hold a meeting with members of Vietnamese civil society, followed by a speech to “the Vietnamese people” that will, “…focus on the bilateral relationship, on our areas of cooperation, on the future vision that he has for the US-Vietnamese relationship,” Stroh added.
After making his way from Noi Bai to Tan Son Nhat, Obama will pay a visit to District 1’s Jade Emperor Pagoda, allowing the American President to “pay tribute to and admire the cultural traditions of Vietnam.”
Next up will be a meeting with young Vietnamese entrepreneurs where Obama will highlight and promote the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement.
Before heading off to Japan for the G7 Summit the following morning, President Obama will host a town hall with members of the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative. According to the initiative’s website, it is: “President Barack Obama’s signature program to strengthen leadership development and networking in Southeast Asia.”
[Photo via Zing]
