Vietnam's top leader to travel to US for 'Board of Peace' meeting

HANOI, Vietnam: Vietnam's top leader To Lam will travel to the United States next week for a meeting of US President Donald Trump's "Board of Peace", two sources briefed on the visit told AFP on Thursday (Feb 12).

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 Feb 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 per cent 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 per cent growth last year despite the new US levies many feared would crush its export-oriented growth model.

It saw a 28 per cent surge in exports to the United States in 2025 while its trade surplus swelled to US$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.