CANBERRA: Vietnamese Prime Minister Phan Van Khai said on Thursday he would visit the United States at the end of June, the first such trip by a top leader of the communist country since the end of the war in 1975. “Thirty years have passed since the end of the war,” Khai told a press conference during a trip to Australia. “This is the first ever visit by a leader of a unified Vietnam to the United States.

“The purpose of my visit to the United States is to elevate our relationship to a higher plane in a new situation,” he said through an interpreter, denying that the rapprochement was part of a strategy to contain China.

“We need to strengthen the comprehensive relationship and cooperation with the United States, we will continue to develop our neighbouring relations with China,” Khai said.—AFP