Obama to visit Laos to advance ties, business
Play
US PRESIDENT Barack Obama will travel to Laos early next month to advance Laos-US cooperation and attend the US-Asean Summit and the East Asia Summit, the US Embassy in Laos has confirmed in a statement.
Obama will also travel to China during his eight-day trip to the two Asian countries from September 2-9.
During his historical trip to Laos, which will be the first visit to the country by a US president, Obama will have meetings with Lao President BounnhangVorachit and other key officials to advance cooperation on economic, development and people-to-people ties.
Obama also will participate in the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative Summit, where he will hold a town hall meeting, among other areas, the US Embassy said.
During the Asean Summit, Obama will discuss ways to strengthen economic cooperation with the countries of Southeast Asia, which collectively represent America’s fourth largest trading partner, and further enhance collaboration on regional and global challenges.
At the East Asia Summit, Obama will coordinate with the region’s leaders on efforts to advance a rules-based international order.
In the meetings in Laos, Obama plans to highlight efforts to improve global opportunities for American businesses and the role that the Trans-Pacific Partnership could play in cementing US economic leadership in the Asia-Pacific region, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing White House press secretary Josh Earnest.
It is expected that more than 5,000 leaders, official delegates and business leaders, of whom 200 are foreign media personnel, will attend and cover the 28th and 29th Asean Summits to be held back-to-back and its related meetings in Vientiane early next month.
Obama is among the leaders attending the meetings. Foreign media have also reported that Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and South Korea President Park Geun-hye have confirmed their attendance to the summits in Laos.
In China, Obama will participate in his final G-20 Leaders’ Summit, where he will emphasise the need to continue building on the progress made since 2009 in advancing strong, sustainable and balanced global economic growth, Earnest said in a statement.
Obama will underscore the importance of G-20 cooperation in promoting a level playing field and broad-based economic opportunities.
This is Obama’s 11th trip to Asia since taking office in 2009.
