President arrives in the United States, begins program to attend APEC Summit Week

According to the special envoy, at around 9:00 a.m. on November 14 (local time, or around 0:00 a.m. on November 15 Vietnam time), President Vo Van Thuong and his wife, along with the Vietnamese high-ranking delegation, arrived at San Francisco International Airport, United States, to begin a working trip to attend the 2023 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit Week and combine bilateral activities in the United States at the invitation of President of the United States of America Joe Biden.

Welcoming President Vo Van Thuong and his wife along with the Vietnamese high-ranking delegation at San Francisco Airport were US Ambassador to Vietnam Marc Knapper and representatives of the APEC 2023 Organizing Committee.

On the Vietnamese side, there were Vietnamese Ambassador to the United States Nguyen Quoc Dung and his wife; Ambassador, Head of the Vietnamese Mission to the United Nations Dang Hoang Giang; Vietnamese Consul General in San Francisco Hoang Anh Tuan and many officers and staff of the Vietnamese Consulate General in San Francisco.

According to the Organizing Committee, the choice of San Francisco as the venue for the APEC 2023 Summit Week reflects the priority of this year's Forum, which is "Connectivity, Innovation and Inclusion."

Located on the Pacific coast, San Francisco has become an economic and cultural “bridge” connecting the US and Asia, with one-third of its population being Asian Americans. San Francisco not only has a large gross domestic product (about 500 billion USD), is the fourth largest economic region in the US, but is also a major economic center in the Asia-Pacific region. It is estimated that two-way trade between this city and APEC economies can reach 100 billion USD annually.

Not only that, San Francisco has diverse and deep connections with APEC through sister cities, establishing Consulates General, trade exchanges and cultural exchanges.

In particular, San Francisco Bay is also the destination, headquarters of the world's leading technology companies and corporations and the "cradle" of the global creative and pioneering industry.

According to the program, within the framework of the events of the APEC 2023 Summit Week, President Vo Van Thuong will join APEC economic leaders to discuss key issues for the world and regional economy; propose cooperation orientations on trade, investment, science and technology, innovation and many other fields.

Vietnam will work with members to promote the spirit of dialogue, construction, responsibility, uphold multilateralism, cooperation and joint action for sustainable development and prosperity of the region.

It is expected that in the program, President Vo Van Thuong will attend and deliver a keynote speech at the CEO Summit; participate in dialogues between APEC economic leaders and partners and guests; attend the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework Summit...

The President will also have bilateral meetings with APEC Economic Leaders, Leaders of countries and international organizations attending the APEC Summit Week 2023.

Regarding bilateral activities, President Vo Van Thuong is expected to meet with US leaders; attend and speak, and exchange policies at the US Council on Foreign Relations (CFR); and attend a roundtable connecting businesses and localities on high technology. The President is also expected to meet with leaders of a number of leading US companies and corporations.

President Vo Van Thuong's activities at the APEC 2023 Summit Week and bilateral activities with senior leaders and US partners, especially in California, will be specific actions to implement the recent Joint Statement on establishing the Vietnam-US Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, especially in the fields of education and training, science and technology, innovation and local connectivity.