US Secretary of State John Kerry walks to lunch with Vietnam’s President Truong Tan Sang at the US State Department in Washington yesterday.
AFP/Washington
Vietnam’s president began a rare US visit yesterday with talks on boosting trade between the former war foes, but lawmakers warned that they first expected progress on human rights.
Truong Tan Sang is only the second Vietnamese president invited to the White House since the normalisation of ties between the countries, which have increasingly found common cause amid unease over China’s rise.
Sang started his visit by talking to Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker about the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a free trade deal under discussion among 12 nations including most recently heavyweight Japan.
Pritzker “emphasised the importance of concluding the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade negotiations this year, which is a top priority for the Obama administration,” a Commerce Department statement said.
Pritzker said Vietnam had “a significant amount to gain” from the trade pact, which Obama has billed as a way to shape Asia’s future through greater respect for international rules.
Sang will meet with US business leaders over dinner after a lunch with Secretary of State John Kerry, a Vietnam veteran who as a senator played a key role in the normalisation of ties in 1995.
But members of Congress have warned that they may object to the Trans-Pacific Partnership unless Vietnam improves its human rights record.
Three lawmakers said they had spoken to President Barack Obama about Vietnam and that he promised to raise human rights concerns when he meets Sang today.