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Amazing, that is nice if true. 
Obama Said to Invite Vietnam's President to Washington
ASIA NEWS Updated July 10, 2013, 7:23 p.m. ET
The Wallstreet Journal
Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang (left) meets the Chinese Premier Li Keqiang at the Diaoyutai State Guest House in Beijing on June 20, 2013 during his two-day visit to China. President Barack Obama has invited Sang to visit the United States this month, sources said Wednesday, July 10, 2013. AFP PHOTO
HANOI—President Truong Tan Sang of Vietnam has been invited by President Barack Obama to visit the White House this month, according to people in Vietnam familiar with the matter, in what would be only the third presidential state visit between the two countries since diplomatic relations were established in 1995.
"President Sang has received the invitation from President Obama for a visit before the end of July and both sides are preparing for the trip," one of the people familiar with the planning said Wednesday.
An official announcement will be made after details of the agenda are worked out, the people said.
A spokesman for the White House National Security Council said the Obama administration had "nothing to announce at this point" about a possible visit by the Vietnamese leader.
The two countries have had delicate relations due partly to U.S. concerns over the communist country's handling of dissent. On Tuesday, the trial of prominent dissident Le Quoc Quan was postponed indefinitely because the judge was sick, state media reported.
But the U.S. remains Vietnam's No. 2 trading partner after China, and Vietnam has posted growing trade surpluses since 1997. In 2012, Vietnam recorded a surplus of $15.6 billion, versus $13.2 billion in 2011, according to U.S. data.
Defense relations have also developed, most recently with a visit to the Pentagon in June by Senior Lt. Gen. Do Ba Ty, the Vietnamese army's chief of general staff and deputy defense minister. Gen. Ty met with U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey. The two countries stepped up cooperation with their first high-level defense dialogue in August 2010, amid concerns over China's military buildup.
The Obama administration has responded to concerns over China's increasingly assertive posture in the region by announcing a refocused defense posture toward Asia.
Vietnam and the U.S. have so far discussed bilateral cooperation for maritime security, search and rescue operations, peacekeeping operations, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.
Mr. Sang recently completed a three-day trip to China, where he met President Xi Jinping. A joint statement refrained from touching on tensions between Hanoi and Beijing over conflicting claims to the South China Sea, parts of which are also claimed by other neighbors.
A visit to Washington would be the first by Mr. Sang since he took office in July 2011. He did meet Mr. Obama that November in Hawaii during a summit of countries involved in establishing the nascent Trans-Pacific Partnership trade grouping.
Vietnam and the U.S. established diplomatic relations in 1995, two decades after the country unified with the defeat of U.S.-backed South Vietnam by the communist North. Human-rights concerns have complicated relations and the countries' top leaders have had only two official visits. President Bill Clinton visited Vietnam in November 2000 and President Nguyen Minh Triet came to the Bush White House in June 2007.
Write to Nguyen Pham Muoi at phammuoi.nguyen@dowjones.com
Obama Said to Invite Vietnam's President to Washington - WSJ.com
Obama Said to Invite Vietnam's President to Washington
ASIA NEWS Updated July 10, 2013, 7:23 p.m. ET
The Wallstreet Journal
Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang (left) meets the Chinese Premier Li Keqiang at the Diaoyutai State Guest House in Beijing on June 20, 2013 during his two-day visit to China. President Barack Obama has invited Sang to visit the United States this month, sources said Wednesday, July 10, 2013. AFP PHOTO
HANOI—President Truong Tan Sang of Vietnam has been invited by President Barack Obama to visit the White House this month, according to people in Vietnam familiar with the matter, in what would be only the third presidential state visit between the two countries since diplomatic relations were established in 1995.
"President Sang has received the invitation from President Obama for a visit before the end of July and both sides are preparing for the trip," one of the people familiar with the planning said Wednesday.
An official announcement will be made after details of the agenda are worked out, the people said.
A spokesman for the White House National Security Council said the Obama administration had "nothing to announce at this point" about a possible visit by the Vietnamese leader.
The two countries have had delicate relations due partly to U.S. concerns over the communist country's handling of dissent. On Tuesday, the trial of prominent dissident Le Quoc Quan was postponed indefinitely because the judge was sick, state media reported.
But the U.S. remains Vietnam's No. 2 trading partner after China, and Vietnam has posted growing trade surpluses since 1997. In 2012, Vietnam recorded a surplus of $15.6 billion, versus $13.2 billion in 2011, according to U.S. data.
Defense relations have also developed, most recently with a visit to the Pentagon in June by Senior Lt. Gen. Do Ba Ty, the Vietnamese army's chief of general staff and deputy defense minister. Gen. Ty met with U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey. The two countries stepped up cooperation with their first high-level defense dialogue in August 2010, amid concerns over China's military buildup.
The Obama administration has responded to concerns over China's increasingly assertive posture in the region by announcing a refocused defense posture toward Asia.
Vietnam and the U.S. have so far discussed bilateral cooperation for maritime security, search and rescue operations, peacekeeping operations, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.
Mr. Sang recently completed a three-day trip to China, where he met President Xi Jinping. A joint statement refrained from touching on tensions between Hanoi and Beijing over conflicting claims to the South China Sea, parts of which are also claimed by other neighbors.
A visit to Washington would be the first by Mr. Sang since he took office in July 2011. He did meet Mr. Obama that November in Hawaii during a summit of countries involved in establishing the nascent Trans-Pacific Partnership trade grouping.
Vietnam and the U.S. established diplomatic relations in 1995, two decades after the country unified with the defeat of U.S.-backed South Vietnam by the communist North. Human-rights concerns have complicated relations and the countries' top leaders have had only two official visits. President Bill Clinton visited Vietnam in November 2000 and President Nguyen Minh Triet came to the Bush White House in June 2007.
Write to Nguyen Pham Muoi at phammuoi.nguyen@dowjones.com
Obama Said to Invite Vietnam's President to Washington - WSJ.com
