Vietnam's President To Lam has pledged to boost the country's semiconductor and artificial intelligence (AI) industries during meetings with leading US corporations in New York, as the Communist-led nation aims to attract greater investment from American tech firms and other companies.

This marks Lam's first visit to the US as Vietnam's president, with a meeting scheduled later on Wednesday with President Joe Biden.

Lam held discussions with several US companies, including tech giants Apple and Meta, as well as financial firms Blackstone and Warburg Pincus.

Lam, who also serves as the general secretary of the Communist Party, the most influential position in Vietnam, is set to meet with Google later on Wednesday, according to a source familiar with his schedule, confirming a Reuters report from last week.

During the Monday meeting with Lam, Meta's President for Global Affairs, Nick Clegg, outlined plans to begin production of virtual reality glasses in Vietnam, according to the country's government portal. 

Despite having tens of millions of Facebook users in Vietnam, Meta has not responded to requests for comment, Reuters reports.

Furthermore, at a separate business forum, Lam signed cooperation agreements with US firms in sectors such as energy, artificial intelligence, and for the development of a data centre, according to the government. 

The forum included representatives from tech company Amazon, payment firm Visa, consumer goods multinational Procter & Gamble, and energy company AES.

Lam “has made it absolutely clear that his presidency, his time as general secretary, they're going to grow the tech economy,” said Ted Osius, head of the US-ASEAN Business Council, the group which co-hosted the event.

In his meetings with US companies, Lam said that Vietnam views digital transformation as a key driver to propel the country into a new era, according to the government portal.

“Developing the semiconductor and AI industries is ... a strategic choice and a priority,” Lam commented.