Communist party chief's visit to Washington, 40 years after end of war, is first of its kind

US President Barack Obama and Nguyen Phu Trong, head of the Communist Party of Vietnam, met on Tuesday at the White House, seeking to deepen ties.

The meeting came 40 years after the end of the Vietnam War and 20 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two former enemies. Trong's visit is the first of its kind paid by a CPV general secretary to the United States.