HANOI, Vietnam (AFP): Vietnam's top leader To Lam will travel to the United States next week for a meeting of President Donald Trump's "Board of Peace", two sources briefed on the visit told AFP.
Lam was reconfirmed as general secretary of Vietnam's Communist Party in January, after launching sweeping growth-oriented reforms officials describe as a "revolution".
He accepted Trump's invitation to join the "Board of Peace" as a founding member state, the foreign ministry announced last month.
The board, of which Trump is the chairman, was originally intended to oversee the rebuilding of the Gaza Strip after two years of war, but its charter appears to extend beyond the Palestinian territory.
The first meeting is scheduled to take place on February 19 in Washington.
Lam said he was committed to working with the United States and the international community to make "positive contributions" toward Middle East peace, state media reported last month.
Vietnam and the United States are currently negotiating a trade deal after Washington imposed 20 percent tariffs on Vietnamese goods.
The two countries held a sixth round of talks earlier this month, but have not reached a final agreement.
The Southeast Asian manufacturing hub has proved surprisingly resilient, clocking 8 percent growth last year despite the new US levies many feared would crush its export-oriented growth model.
It saw a 28 percent surge in exports to the United States in 2025 while its trade surplus swelled to $134 billion, according to official statistics.
Vietnam's government has not confirmed or publicly announced the trip, which would be Lam's first to the United States since 2024. -- AFP
