Good morning! Welcome to the latest Vietnam Weekly edition for paying subscribers. This is way behind schedule, but there’s a reason for that: I’m getting married on Saturday and started my new job on Monday, so you can imagine how busy recent weeks have been. Normal service will resume in the second half of the month.
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Today I’m covering something I don’t write about much since it gets plenty of attention: the relationship between Vietnam and the United States.
The Summit
Yesterday evening, Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính left Hanoi for Washington D.C. to attend the ASEAN-U.S. Special Summit, which takes place on Thursday and Friday.
The event will commemorate 45 years of relations between the US and ASEAN. However, Chính’s trip will last until the 17th, as he is also visiting the United Nations and conducting other state business.
According to the Vietnamese government’s official Facebook page, Chính is traveling with an extensive entourage, including the ministers of public security; foreign affairs; planning and investment; industry and trade; labor, invalids, and social affairs; natural resources and environment; information and communications; agriculture and rural development; and science and technology.
I think that’s nearly every minister, while the governor of the State Bank of Vietnam and Vietnam’s ambassador to the US will also be present.