Obama to launch Asian diplomacy

Source: Manila Times

Obama to launch Asian diplomacy
Friday, 25 June 2010 00:00

WASHINGTON, D.C.: US President Barack Obama, twice forced to cancel a trip to Asia this year, will launch a major diplomatic push on the region by meeting five key leaders at this weekend’s G-20 summit. The White House said Obama would have meetings in Toronto with the leaders of India, China, South Korea, Japan and Indonesia and five of his six bilateral encounters there will focus on Asia.

Aides said Obama wanted to make a statement about the importance with which he views US links with the dynamic region, ahead of a planned trip to India, South Korea and Japan in November.

Obama, who will also attend a G-8 summit in Canada, will discuss key global issues, including emerging from the worst economic crisis in decades and security threats including North Korea with the Asian leaders, aides said.

He will hold the latest of his regular meetings with Chinese President Hu Jintao, which will take place days after Beijing moved towards a key US foreign policy goal, letting the yuan trade more freely against the dollar.

The administration says its relationship with China is productive, despite disagreements on some key issues and points to the recently passed UN Security Council sanctions on Iran as the fruit of good ties with Beijing.


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