Vietnam confirms top leader's US visit

Vietnam confirmed on Tuesday that its top leader To Lam will attend the first meeting of President Donald Trump's "Board of Peace" in the United States this week.

Lam, who was reconfirmed as general secretary of Vietnam's Communist Party in January, will visit the US from Wednesday to Friday at the invitation of Trump, Hanoi's foreign ministry said in a statement.

Two sources briefed on the trip told AFP last week that Lam would travel to the US to join the meeting of world leaders.

Lam accepted Trump's invitation to join the "Board of Peace" as a founding member state, Hanoi said 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 between Israel and Hamas, but its charter appears to extend beyond the Palestinian territory.

Its first meeting is scheduled to take place on Thursday in Washington.

Lam said he was committed to working with the US and the international community to make "positive contributions" toward Middle East peace, state media said last month.

Vietnam and the US are currently negotiating a trade deal after Washington imposed 20 percent tariffs on Vietnamese goods last year.

The two countries held a sixth round of talks this month, but have not reached a final agreement.

It is not clear whether Lam will meet with Trump and discuss bilateral trade ties.