United States Deputy Secretary of State James B. Steinberg is expected to lead a delegation of American government officials to Hanoi Saturday.

Deputy Secretary Steinberg will exchange views with senior level Vietnamese officials on a wide range of bilateral, regional, and global issues.

The delegation will visit for two days and Steinberg is expected to hold a short press briefing on September 27 at Hanoi’s Noi Bai International Airport.

Appointed by President Obama, he was confirmed by the Senate on January 28, 2009 and sworn in the next day.

Prior to his appointment in the Obama Administration, Steinberg served as dean of the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas-Austin.

His visit comes as part of a September 25-October 1 tour of Asia that includes Malaysia, China, the Republic of Korea and Japan. (TN-HANOI)