U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry visited an art gallery and a silk shop in Hanoi's old quarter, before his meetings with Vietnamese leaders on Monday (December 16).<br /> <br />Kerry is scheduled to meet with his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Binh Minh and later, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.<br /> <br />More than four decades after he served in the Vietnam War, Kerry has returned as secretary of state to seek closer trade and security ties with a country that helped shape his political thinking as a young naval officer.<br /> <br />His four-day trip to the commercial hub of Ho Chi Minh City - or Saigon as he once knew it - the Mekong Delta and the capital Hanoi will be as much about his past as about promoting stronger ties with a country whose economy is fast transforming itself.<br /> <br />Kerry visited Vietnam 13 times as a U.S. senator, this is his first to the country as secretary of state.<br /> <br />His visit comes as the United States strives to reach a trade deal with 11 countries in the Asia-Pacific
