No confirmation from White House on Harris attending Apec Summit instead of Biden
The White House has refused to confirm whether US Vice President Kamala Harris will be attending the Apec Summit in Bangkok next month in place of President Joe Biden, as had been reported earlier by Thai media.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in Washington on Wednesday [today Thailand time] that, “We don’t have any travel announcement ... at this time.”
Responding to a media question during her press briefing, she dismissed criticism that the US appeared to view the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum as “not important enough”.
“We consider the forum important. That is why the United States will be the host of the Apec in 2023. So clearly, that is important to the president; that is important to us,” the White House spokesperson said.
“It is a top priority for the Biden-Harris administration to serve as a strong, reliable partner to Apec economies and identify common ways to replenish — to unleash economic opportunity, prosperity, and growth for us all,” she added.
The US Embassy in Bangkok, when approached for an answer on the matter, said on Thursday (Oct 20) that the White House has not made any official announcement regarding Harris taking Biden’s place at the Apec Summit.
Thailand will be hosting this year’s Apec Summit at Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre on November 18-19.
It was reported earlier that Biden would be at the White House on November 19 to attend the wedding reception of his eldest granddaughter Naomi Biden.
In a related development, Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Tanee Sangrat said on Wednesday that Thailand had already received written confirmation from six economies to attend the summit — Chile, Hong Kong, Taiwan, New Zealand, Peru and Singapore.
“Three countries have said their leaders would attend the summit, while two will send representatives to attend the meeting,” Tanee said, adding that Thailand is currently waiting for a response from four nations.
According to him, leaders from three countries will attend the Apec Summit as observers and special guests of the chair.
A complete list of Apec economies attending the summit will be announced during the October 31 meeting of the national committee tasked with preparation, to be chaired by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, according to the Foreign Ministry’s spokesman.
