Obama pledges to visit Vietnam

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama met with Vietnam’s Communist Party leader at the White House on Tuesday and pledged to make his first visit to that nation “sometime in the future.”

It was not immediately clear when Obama would make that visit, although some foreign policy analysts have speculated the president could make the stop during a broader tour of Asia in November.

Obama and Nguyen Phu Trong met in the Oval Office just before noon and discussed a range of issues, including a 12-nation Pacific Rim trade deal, security issues in the South China Sea and human rights. It marked the first visit from Vietnam’s Communist Party leader to the White House since the two nations normalized relations two decades ago.

“This was an excellent opportunity for us to deepen our discussions around our vision for a comprehensive partnership,” Obama said afterward.

He called Trong’s invitation to visit Vietnam “indicative of the remarkable progress that’s taken place in the relationship between our two countries over the last 20 years” and noted the “difficult history” between the U.S. and Vietnam.

Obama said that differences remain on human rights and freedom of religion. Vietnamese-American groups demonstrated outside the White House ahead of the meeting, denouncing Vietnam’s lack of democracy.

Trong, 71, noted the historic nature of his meeting and described their meeting as “constructive and candid.”

U.S. officials have sought to elevate the bilateral relationship with Vietnam at a time when Vietnamese leaders have grown alarmed by China’s maritime operations in the South China Sea.