Obama has left Vietnam and heads to Japan

By VnExpress   May 24, 2016 | 09:48 pm PT
Obama has left Vietnam and heads to Japan
President Obama waves goodbye to Vietnam at Tan Son Nhat International Airport before departing for the G7 Summit in Japan. Photo by VnExpress/Hong Phuc
After three busy days of visiting Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, U.S. President Barack Obama has departed for the G7 Summit in Japan today at 12:50 p.m. from Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City.

Obama ends his historic visit to Vietnam with the participation in the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) town hall at the GEM Center in Ho Chi Minh City. Earlier in the morning, he has conducted a closed meeting with U.S. consulate staff and family members.

During his three-day trip to the Southeast Asian country, from May 23 to May 26, several significant milestones in the Vietnam - U.S. relations have been marked, including the U.S. officially lifting the decades-long arms embargo against Vietnam and establishing the Peace Corps’ operation in the country.

Obama has also impressed Vietnamese people with his friendly manner, selecting some of the capital's signature dishes that are hard to find anywhere else and referencing historic Vietnamese figures, music and literature in his speeches.

The U.S. president will spend three days in Japan before finishing his late-May Asia swing on the 28th.

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Saigoneers bid farewell to President Obama Photo by VnExpress/Hai Hieu

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Air Force One at Tan Son Nhat International Airport ready to take Obama to Japan for the G7 Summit. Photo by VnExpress/Duc Dong

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Air Force One carrying Obama departs from Tan Son Nhat Airport. Photo by VnExpress/Duc Dong

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One of Obama's most shared moments in Vietnam: having a $6 dinner with US celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain in Hanoi, which drew more than 120,000 likes and thousands of comments on social media. Photo by Anthony Bourdain

 
 
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