Following a meeting in Hanoi, US President Joe Biden and Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh “welcomed a landmark deal” between Boeing and Vietnam’s national carrier, the White House said.

The deal “will support more than 30,000 jobs in the United States”, the statement added.

Vietnam Airlines will purchase 50 of the 737 aircraft, Biden said during a roundtable with senior executives from top American and Vietnamese firms — including from both aviation companies.

Vietnam Airlines currently has a fleet of 100 aircraft, with 15 Boeing 787 Dreamliners.

The Boeing jets will replace aircraft that are more than a decade old, according to state media.

The communist country’s aviation sector has boomed in recent years thanks to a rapidly expanding middle class with growing appetites — and budgets — for air travel.