Kamala announces her second foreign trip to Singapore and Vietnam following heavy criticism over her border response during visit to Guatemala and Mexico
Vice President Kamala Harris will visit Singapore and Vietnam next month on a trip focused on strengthening economic ties and celebrating America's cultural connection with the Indo-Pacific region.
It will be Harris' first overseas travel and second foreign trip, after she visited Guatemala and Mexico in June as part of her role leading diplomatic efforts to address the root causes of migration to the United States.
That trip attracted bipartisan criticism, with progressives angry she told Guatemalan migrants to stay in their country - and conservatives irritated she wouldn't commit to a U.S.-Mexico border trip.
Vice President Kamala Harris will travel to Singapore and Vietnam next month, the White House announced Friday
It will mark her second trip abroad, with her first being to Guatemala and Mexico in June
Vice President Kamala Harris and Guatemala's President Alejandro Giammattei arrive for a news conference at the Palacio Nacional de la Cultura in Guatemala City
Harris later traveled to the U.S.-Mexico border days before it was visited by former President Donald Trump.
The Vietnam trip will mark the first time the country has been visited by a U.S. vice president.
And Harris will be the highest-ranking official from President Joe Biden's administration to visit Asia.
Her visit comes as the administration is working to counter China's influence in the region and globally.
According to chief Harris spokesperson Symone Sanders, Harris will meet with the leaders of Singapore and Vietnam to discuss regional security, the coronavirus pandemic and climate change.
'President Biden and Vice President Harris have made it a top priority to rebuild our global partnerships and keep our nation secure, and this upcoming visit continues that work - deepening our engagement in Southeast Asia,' Sanders said Friday, adding that Harris would be 'the first vice president to ever visit Vietnam.'
She's also the first vice president of Asian descent.
Both Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump visited Vietnam during their time in office - with Hanoi being the host summit for Trump's second summit with North Korean leader Kim Kim Jong Un.
Singapore was the locale for Trump's first summit with the North Korean dictator.
The Biden administration has placed an emphasis on strengthening diplomatic ties with nations in the Indo-Pacific region to push back against China.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is visiting the region this week, with a focus on offering support for Southeast Asian nations embroiled in territorial rifts with China.
First lady Jill Biden went to Asia last week for her first solo overseas trip - spending two and a half days in Tokyo, Japan for the summer Olympics.