Obama to visit Vietnam in May
U.S. President Barack Obama will visit Vietnam in May during a trip to Asia, the White House said Monday. Obama will make the trip while in the region for the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Japan. If he ends up making the trip, he will be the third consecutive U.S. president to visit Vietnam in the post-Vietnam war era, following Bill Clinton in 2000 and George W. Bush in 2006. The White House made the announcement after Obama met with Vietnamese prime minister Nguyen Tan Dung on the sidelines of the U.S.-ASEAN summit at the Sunnylands retreat with Southeast Asian leaders . According to a White House official, the leaders discussed the continued strengthening of U.S.-Vietnam relations in 2015, which had marked the 20th anniversary of the restoration of diplomatic relations. “The leaders noted the importance of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, maritime security, and human rights to advancing bilateral relations,” the official said. Vietnam is one of 12 members of the U.S...