President Obama to visit pagoda in Vietnam's HCM City

Xinhua News Agency

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U.S. President Barack Obama will visit a century-old pagoda in the downtown of Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City on May 24, local media reported Friday.

After flying from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City, Obama will call at Ngoc Hoang (Jade Emperor) Pagoda in District 1 on Tuesday afternoon, online newspaper VnExpress quoted the U.S. General Consulate in the city as saying.

According to the U.S. side's request, the pagoda, built in 1892, dedicated to the Jade Emperor and Buddha, will not receive Buddhists and visitors at the time Obama visits.

Covering an area of over 2,000 square meters, the pagoda has over 300 statues and many century-old trees, pigeons and turtles. Many local people go to the pagoda to pray for children or good chances in love.

Daniel Kritenbrink, U.S. National Security Council's senior director for Asian affairs, recently told reporters that during Obama's first visit to Vietnam from May 23-25 (Vietnam time), the president will have meetings with Vietnam's top leaders in Hanoi. While in capital city, he is also scheduled to deliver a speech on U.S.-Vietnam relations and to meet with members of civil society.

Obama will also travel to Ho Chi Minh City, where he will meet with members of the Young Southeast Asian Leadership Initiative, entrepreneurs, and the business community, Kritenbrink said.