HANOI, Sept 18 (Askume) – Vietnamese President and ruling Communist Party General Secretary To Lam will meet representatives of several U.S. companies including Google and Meta during a visit to the United States next week, two people familiar with the matter told Askume.
According to a Askume report last month, Meta-owned Facebook(META.O) has the world’s largest user base in the country of 100 million people, while Google ( ) GOOGL.O
In Lam’s first trip to the United States since being appointed as the country’s most powerful party leader in early August, she planned to meet representatives from Google and Meta, two people familiar with the matter said, one of whom said the companies would hold separate meetings. Neither said what would be discussed.
Carrie Lam will also attend a business forum with other US business representatives on September 23, two other people familiar with the matter said.
All four sources declined to be named because the information is private.
The United States-ASEAN Business Council (USABC), one of the organisers of the September 23 event, declined to disclose the list of participants.
Google and Facebook did not respond to requests for comment.
The USABC lobbying group has organized two major U.S. trade missions to Vietnam in the past 18 months, attracting dozens of top American businesses, including defense, energy and technology companies .
(MA.N) , payments company Mastercard (BA.N), Boeing (BA.N) and aerospace giant (AES.N) are the latest two participants in the mission , according to a list of participants seen by Askume and Amazon . , which also includes its cloud computing subsidiary Amazon Web Services.
US companies view Vietnam as a manufacturing hub and market for their products. Apple’s (AAPL.O) suppliers make many of the company’s products there, Intel (INTC.O) has a huge chip assembly plant there and defence companies have long been involved in selling security equipment to Hanoi .
Meeting Biden?
Lam’s visit to the United States has not been officially announced, but officials said she will travel to the United States on Saturday to address the United Nations General Assembly, the annual gathering of world leaders, on September 22-23. She will travel to Cuba later this week, the final leg of her trip.
Columbia University announced it would host an event with Lin in New York on September 23.
The United States and Vietnam strengthened diplomatic ties last year, with Washington viewing the Southeast Asian country as a strategic partner to reduce its reliance on Chinese manufacturing. United StatesIt also seeks closer ties with Hanoi on sensitive industries, including undersea cables .
However, it is unclear whether Carrie Lam will meet US President Biden.
A White House spokesman declined to comment on Lam, but said Biden planned to meet a number of foreign leaders at the United Nations.
Vietnam’s foreign ministry and presidential office could not immediately be reached for comment.
Lam met Chinese President Xi Jinping last month on her first overseas visit since being appointed party general secretary .
He also plans a state visit to France in early October, an official told Askume.
