Trump to meet Vietnamese Prime Minister

US President Donald Trump is set to meet Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc at the White House today during which they are expected to discuss bilateral and regional issues, a presidential spokesman said.
Phuc is the first leader from South East Asian country to visit Trump at the White House reflecting the priority that Trump places on developing relationship with Vietnam.
In recent years, India and Vietnam have increased their defence ties, supported by the US, amid China's increasing assertiveness in the region.
Vietnam is among governments claiming territory in the South China Sea, where China's assertive behavior and land reclamation has stirred tension.

On the eve of the meeting, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer met with Phuc to discuss the US-Vietnam trade relationship and outstanding bilateral trade issues.
During the meeting, the two leaders also discussed the challenges presented by the growth in the US trade deficit with Vietnam and the potential for further improvements in the trade relationship, including through initiatives under the US-Vietnam Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA).

Lighthizer also met with Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh on these issues, as well as on the importance of ensuring concrete progress during the upcoming TIFA working group meetings on agriculture, digital trade, goods, intellectual property, and labor, a media release said.

Later during a dinner reception for the visiting Vietnamese leader at the US Chamber of Commerce, Lighthizer said the US government looks forward to returning to Vietnam for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders Meeting in November.
"As the Trump administration begins to advance its agenda for free and fair trade, Prime Minister Phuc's visit to Washington is a timely and important opportunity for our two countries to reflect on the impressive growth of our bilateral relationship over the past two decades," Lighthizer said.
"Working closely together, our trade and investment ties have grown significantly since we normalised relations in 1995. In 2001, we signed a bilateral trade agreement to serve as a roadmap for increased cooperation on economic reforms in Vietnam," he said, adding that the US and Vietnam worked together to fulfill those commitments, which served as a stepping-stone towards Vietnam's World Trade Organisation (WTO) accession.

Since becoming prime minister in 2016, he has shown he is committed to maintaining high economic growth and promoting Vietnam's competitiveness and integration into the global economy, Lighthizer said.
"He has focused on tackling graft and corruption, and promoting broad economic reform, including continuing to privatise Vietnam's state-owned-enterprises. Before becoming prime minister, he served in a series of important positions at the provincial and national level that gave him an experience in economic management and a recognition of the importance of economic reform to the country's future growth and regional and global competitiveness," he said.