WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama will attend the 7th East Asia Summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia later this month and also meet with leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), including President Aquino, the White House said.
The newly re-elected US President will travel to Bangkok, Rangoon and Phnom Penh from Nov. 17 to 20, it said in a statement on Thursday.
“During his interactions in the region, he will discuss a broad range of issues, including economic prosperity and job creation through increased trade and partnerships, energy and security cooperation, human rights, shared values and other issues of regional and global concern,” it said.
At the same time, the White House said since the President’s re-election, he has been receiving messages of congratulations from world leaders. Among those who congratulated Obama was Aquino, who said he looked forward to continuing working with him in further strengthening Phl-US relations.
On Thursday, Obama was able to return some of these messages personally by phone.
In each call, the White House said he thanked his counterpart for their friendship and partnership thus far and expressed his desire to continue close cooperation moving ahead.
It said the president spoke with leaders of Australia, Brazil, Britain, Canada, Colombia, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Israel, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. He also spoke to NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen.