US President Donald Trump with his national security advisor Robert O'Brien. — AFP/VNA Photo

HÀ NỘI — US National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien is set to have an official visit to Việt Nam on Friday-Sunday, the Vietnamese foreign ministry confirmed on Thursday.

The ministry’s spokesperson Lê Thị Thu Hằng said the visit is taking place as the two countries celebrate the 25th anniversary of diplomatic ties (July 11, 1995 – July 11, 2020).

The US security advisor is scheduled to hold talks with “a number of leaders of Vietnamese ministries and agencies” to discuss issues related to bilateral relations and “other regional and international issues of mutual concern,” Hằng added.

According to Bloomberg, O’Brien is also expected to deliver remarks to students at Việt Nam National University in Hà Nội on Sunday and that he would be visiting US' ally Philippines later.

O’Brien is the second senior official in the Trump administration to visit Việt Nam in just a month, following the visit from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo as part of his Asian tour.

During the visit, Mike Pompeo had meetings with his Vietnamese counterpart Phạm Bình Minh, Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc, and Minister of Public Security Tô Lâm.

Representing the US, O’Brien last week attended the East Asian Summit and the US-ASEAN Summit held as part of the 37th ASEAN Summit hosted virtually this year under the chair of Việt Nam, reiterating the push for a strategic vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific.

Also during the press briefing, asked about the fact that Việt Nam has not yet extended its congratulations for the projected victory of US Democratic Presidential candidate Joe Biden while many other countries have done so, Hằng said Việt Nam "respects the choice of the American people."

“No matter who wins the election, the US remains one of the top partners of Việt Nam, and the two countries will enjoy good relations in the spirit of mutual understanding and mutual respect,” she added. — VNS