Biden to sign strategic partnership deal with Vietnam in Sep: Politico

U.S. President Joe Biden will sign a strategic partnership agreement with Vietnam during a state visit to the Southeast Asian country in mid-September, Politico reported, citing three people with knowledge of the deal's planning.

The agreement will allow for new bilateral collaboration that will boost Vietnam's efforts to develop its high-tech sector in areas including semiconductor production and artificial intelligence, Politico said Friday, U.S. time.

“The new strategic partnership agreement opens the door to closer diplomatic, economic and technological cooperation” with Hanoi, the politics-focused U.S. newspaper company wrote.

The three sources “were granted anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak on the record about the agreement,” Politico said, adding that neither the White House nor the Vietnamese embassy in Washington D.C. responded to requests for comment.

The White House has not confirmed plans for the trip.

The agreement will mark an upgrade in U.S.-Vietnam ties guided by an existing comprehensive partnership deal signed in 2013 by then U.S. President Barack Obama that boosted bilateral cooperation in various areas including trade, investment, education, public health, and assistance for Vietnam’s coast guard.

The deal symbolizes the steady improvement in U.S.-Vietnam ties since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1995, ending two decades of nonengagement following the end of the Vietnam War in 1975.

In 1993, the U.S. State Department opened its first in Hanoi. In mid-April this year, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken broke ground on the new U.S. embassy campus in the capital city, expected to match the vision for the future of the two countries’ partnership.

At their April meeting, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Blinken expressed a desire to deepen ties as the U.S. is seeking to solidify relations with partners in Asia.

Then, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen paid a visit to Vietnam on July 20-21 to enhance bilateral relations.

“The United States considers Vietnam a key partner in advancing a free and open Indo-Pacific,” she said at a meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in Hanoi on July 20.

"Vietnam is also a close economic partner, with our two-way trade reaching record highs last year and the United States serving as Vietnam’s largest export market," Yellen added.

She said that the U.S. was committed to mobilizing over $15 billion to support Vietnam’s adoption of renewable energy as a part of the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP). The funds were promised by the G7 economies to help Vietnam phase out its reliance on fossil fuels. Similar incentives have been offered to South Africa and Indonesia.

U.S. President Biden said earlier this month that he would be traveling to Vietnam "shortly" because the country wanted to elevate its relationship with the U.S. and become a major partner.

Last year, Biden, along with leaders from Australia, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, launched the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) during a visit to Tokyo.