Kamala Harris will visit Singapore and Vietnam next month, becoming the first US vice president to visit Hanoi.

Kamala Harris and husband Doug Emhoff board Air Force Two before departing from Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland on March 15. Photo: AFP

The trip is aimed to “strengthen relationships and expand economic cooperation with two critical Indo-Pacific partners of the United States,” the White House announced on Friday [July 30].

Harris will discuss issues of mutual interest, including regional security, the global response to the Covid-19 pandemic, climate change, and joint efforts to promote a rules-based international order, according to the White House.

US President Joe Biden and Vice-President Harris have made it “a top priority to rebuild our global partnerships and keep our nation secure, and this upcoming visit continues that work - deepening our engagement in Southeast Asia,” it stated.

The visit follows the visit paid to Vietnam on July 28-29 by Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin that included Singapore and the Philippines.

During the two-day visit to Hanoi, Austin expressed Washington’s wish to upgrade ties with Vietnam to the strategic partnership.