Vietnam president meets with Vietnamese community in US during APEC

What happened: Thuong, who arrived in the U.S. earlier in the day, recognized the Vietnamese diplomats for helping raise Vietnam’s role and profile on the international stage. He asked representative agencies in San Francisco and Houston to strengthen ties with the local communities and encourage overseas Vietnamese to invest in Vietnam.

Vietnamese Ambassador to the U.S. Nguyen Quoc Dung said representative agencies have been working hard toward significant diplomatic engagements between the U.S. and Vietnam. He said many American businesses are interested to invest in the Southeast Asian country.

Thuong also acknowledged expats for their contributions to the development of the Permanent Delegation of Vietnam to the UN. He described them as an inseparable part of Vietnam and expressed hopes that they continue to promote patriotism and contribute to national development.

About the APEC: Several leaders have traveled to San Francisco to attend the 21-member APEC forum this week, including Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who also visited the Filipino community in the city. The conference, which takes place from Nov. 11-17, gathers leaders in the region for discussions on improving trade and economic growth.

One of the main highlights of this year’s forum is the meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping. The sit-down, which took place on Wednesday, saw the two countries’ leaders agreeing on several matters, including resuming military communications and curbing fentanyl production.