Deputy PM begins eight-day US visit

Washington — Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem arrived in San Francisco, California on Saturday, the first stop in an eight-day official visit to the United States.

On his first day, the deputy PM held working sessions with heads of several universities and colleges in California, the mayor of Berkeley and the managing director of the Bay Area World Trade Centre.

He also met with Thomas Wu, CEO of United Commercial Bank, overseas Vietnamese living in the state and staff from the General Consulate of Viet Nam in San Francisco.

In the meeting with over 250 overseas Vietnamese, Khiem said he was pleased with the growth of the foreign Vietnamese community, and was moved by their expressed sentiments.

Khiem said the Party and Government considered overseas Vietnamese an important part of the Vietnamese community. He said the Government has actively solved issues relating to benefits for overseas Vietnamese, namely visa exemptions, the purchase of property and other investments.

The Deputy PM directly answered questions from overseas Vietnamese on issues relating to State management, policies regarding overseas Vietnamese and measures linking Vietnamese people at home and abroad.

Today, Deputy PM Khiem and his entourage are expected to meet with other organisations, agencies, political circles and businesses in California.

VNA, VNS