A number of international media outlets have covered US President Barack Obama’s first visit to Vietnam from May 23-25.

“The Hill Newspaper” on May 22 ran a front-page article entitled “Obama arrives in Vietnam for historic trip”, saying that the President will meet with President Tran Dai Quang, National Assenmbly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong.

The US’s NBC and Fox News highlighted Obama’s commitment to rebalancing America’s foreign policy toward Asia Pacific, specifically in economics, trade, security, and tackling climate change.

In an article also published May 22, The Wall Street Journal called Obama’s visit to Vietnam an historic trip, saying that it will open a new chapter in the two nation’s bilateral ties and potentially deepen the Vietnam – US relationship.

The Washington Post noted that the US President’s visit to Vietnam reflects a new step in bilateral relations.

The article said 41 years after the end of the Vietnam War and 21 years after relations were normalised, the President wants to lift Vietnam–US relations to a new height.

Belgian broadcaster Radio Television Belge de la Communaute Francaise (RTBF) highlighted that the visit aims to strengthen trade and strategic ties with Hanoi in the context of Chinese aggression in the region.

Economically, the two countries hope to see a rapid conclusion of the agreement TPP sealed by 12 countries in the region, which has not yet been ratified by the US Congress, according to RTBF.

It also cited the US Special Trade Representative Michael Froman as saying that the middle class in Vietnam is expected to double between 2014-2020. He said that the removal or reduction of tariffs will offer opportunities for US firms.

US President Barack Obama started his first visit to Vietnam on May 23 at the invitation of President Tran Dai Quang.

The visit marks the third visit of a US President to the nation, after Bill Clinton in 2000 and George W. Bush in 2006.

Argentina’s news agency Telam covers President Obama's visit to Vietnam

Argentina’s news agency Telam reported on May 23 that President Obama made his first official visit to Vietnam with the aim of strengthening economic and military cooperation between the two countries, adding that he is the third US President to visit Vietnam since the end of the war in Vietnam in 1975.

The news agency said Obama will also travel to Japan, noting that both Vietnam and Japan used to be at the other side of war with the US but now they play an important role in the US’s search for allies in the region.

The same day, the Clarin, the biggest newspaper in Argentina, also carried images of the US President arriving in Noi Bai Airport in Hanoi, Vietnam, while taking note of the visit’s goals of enhancing trade and military ties.

In Italy, the La Repubblica published a story titled “Good morning, Vietnam” on May 22 on Obama’s visit to Vietnam. The article looked back at the Vietnam-US relations over the past 21 years since the end of the war in Vietnam, noting that the two countries have travelled a long way in their relationship.

It also recalled the meeting between President Obama and Vietnam’s Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong at the White House during the Vietnamese Party leader’s visit to the US in July 2015, citing Trong’s remark that “the past cannot be changed but the future belongs to our responsibility”.

The article underlined great strides in Vietnam-US trade and investment ties and concluded that the two countries’ relationship has improved greatly in a world of too much conflict.

VNA