WASHINGTON -- The White House says President Barack Obama will meet with Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang later this month at the White House.
The meeting is scheduled for July 25. The White House says Obama and Sang will discuss cooperation on regional issues and a budding trade partnership with Asian countries. The White House says Obama also plans to bring up American priorities such as climate change and human rights.
The U.S. and Vietnam have both signaled they want deeper trading and security relations, and share concerns over China's increasing assertiveness in Southeast Asia. But the Obama administration has in the past expressed concern about Vietnam's "backsliding" on human rights and asserted that advancing individual freedoms is key to U.S. policy in Asia.