Vietnam’s Globe-Trotting Leader Plans Visits to Russia, France, US and Canada

To Lam is preparing for an unusually intensive month of diplomacy. Vietnam’s president and Communist Party general secretary plans to visit Russia, France, the United States and Canada, according to several people familiar with the schedule.

The trip is striking even by To Lam’s standards. Since taking power in 2024, he has travelled extensively and hosted foreign leaders. The September itinerary would add to an already crowded calendar that includes a meeting in Hanoi with Myanmar President Min Aung Hlaing and follows state visits to Australia and New Zealand last month. He could return to Europe in October for a broader trip that may include meetings with European Union leaders in Brussels.

The schedule has not been officially announced and could change. To Lam is expected to begin in Russia on Sept. 7, where three sources said he would meet President Vladimir Putin. An official familiar with the Moscow visit said it would focus on building political trust in energy, defense and security. Russia remains Vietnam’s largest arms supplier and is involved in nuclear power and gas projects in the South China Sea, including waters also claimed by China.

To Lam is then expected in France for the International Space Summit in Paris on Sept. 9 and 10. French companies are pursuing Vietnamese railway, airport and defense projects. Airbus Defence and Space signed a space cooperation declaration with Vietnam during President Emmanuel Macron’s visit last year, alongside several multibillion-dollar agreements, many of which are non-binding.

After returning briefly to Vietnam, To Lam is expected to travel to the United States for the high-level debate of the U.N. General Assembly, beginning Sept. 21. No source had information about a possible meeting with President Donald Trump, while a White House official said Trump’s schedule was not finalized. The visit would come as trade ties face pressure from Washington’s efforts to reduce imbalances, despite record Vietnamese exports to the United States. To Lam is expected to travel to neighboring Canada from Sept. 24.