By Francesco Guarascio and Phuong Nguyen
HANOI (Reuters) – Vietnamese President and ruling Communist Party leader To Lam will meet representatives of several U.S. companies including Google (NASDAQ:) and Meta during a visit to the United States next week. Two people were informed about the plans. Reuters.
Meta’s Facebook (NASDAQ:) has one of the world’s largest user bases in the country of 100 million, and Google makes its smartphones there through suppliers and plans a large data center, according to a Reuters report last month.
On his first trip to the United States since being appointed head of the party, the country’s most powerful job, in early August, Lam will meet representatives from Google and Meta, the two people said, with one noting each of the companies. would have a separate meeting with him. Neither said what will be discussed.
Two other people familiar with the plans said Lam will also attend a business forum with other U.S. business representatives on September 23.
All four sources declined to be identified because the information was not public.
The US-ASEAN Business Council (USABC), one of the organizers of the September 23 event, declined to share a list of participants.
Google and Facebook did not respond to requests for comment.
Two major US business missions organized by USABC’s lobby group in Vietnam over the past 18 months involve dozens of top US companies, including defense, energy and technology companies.
Among the companies that attended both recent missions to Vietnam are energy company AES (NYSE:), aerospace giant Boeing (NYSE:), payments company Mastercard (NYSE:) and Amazon (NASDAQ:), including its cloud computing subsidiary Amazon Web Services , according to lists of participants seen by Reuters.
American companies see Vietnam as a production center and a market for their products. Apple’s (NASDAQ:) suppliers complete many of the company’s products there, Intel (NASDAQ:) has a large chip-assembly factory, and defense companies have long been in talks to sell security equipment to Hanoi.
BIDEN MEETING?
Lam’s trip to the United States has not yet been formally announced, but officials said he would travel there on Saturday to speak at the United Nations General Assembly, where world leaders meet for their annual meeting on September 22 and 23. He will fly to Cuba later this week for the final leg of his trip.
Columbia University has announced an event with Lam on September 23 in New York.
The US and Vietnam strengthened their diplomatic ties last year as Washington sees the Southeast Asian country as a strategic partner to reduce dependence on Chinese manufacturing. The US is also seeking closer ties with Hanoi in sensitive industries, including undersea cables.
However, it is not clear whether Lam will meet US President Joe Biden.
A White House spokesman declined to comment on Lam but said Biden planned to meet several foreign leaders at the United Nations.
Vietnam’s Foreign Ministry and the president’s office were not immediately available for comment.
Lam met Chinese President Xi Jinping last month during his first foreign trip after being appointed party chief.
He is also planning a state visit to France in early October, an official told Reuters.
