(Bloomberg) -- Vietnam’s Communist Party leaders will discuss and decide on the resignation of President Vo Van Thuong at a meeting on Wednesday, according to two officials with knowledge of the matter.

The Central Committee’s decision would then be formalized in parliament the next day, said the officials who asked not be identified as the matter is private. The party has held an increasing number of extraordinary meetings in recent years amid an anti-graft crackdown that has taken down ministers and senior party officials. 

The latest moves could bring a second change in Vietnam’s No. 2 leadership job since Jan. 2023. Speculation of Thuong’s impending resignation surfaced after a letter was sent to members of the National Assembly, calling for an “extraordinary session” on March 21 to discuss and decide on “personnel matters.”

The government earlier postponed a state visit by Dutch royalty that was scheduled for this week due to “internal circumstances.”

Vietnam’s Foreign Affairs Ministry didn’t reply to a request for comment. 

Thuong, 53 was seen in public last week at an event with Pakistan’s ambassador in Hanoi. The presidency is the second most powerful position in the communist nation’s political hierarchy, next only to ailing 79-year-old Party Chief Nguyen Phu Trong. 

Thuong was elected by parliament in March 2023, about two months after his predecessor stepped down for assuming responsibility for violations related to different graft cases. He had been a rising star in the Communist Party and analysts saw him as a contender to potentially succeed Trong, who backed his bid for the presidency. 

Before that, Thuong was the youngest permanent member of the Central Committee’s Secretariat. He has since had a front-row seat in the party’s foreign policy strategy, including taking part of high-profile meetings with President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

As president, Thuong had sought to capitalize investor interest in Vietnam as a supply-chain alternative to China by pushing for foreign investment and security partnerships.

The government that Thuong is helping to oversee has encouraged more shares sales to boost the stock market, and pushed to spur credit to support an economic expansion that analysts said may hit 6% this year.

(Updates with details, context)

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