26 October 2010
Clinton to Meet with Asia-Pacific Leaders
Washington — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton plans extensive talks with leaders and senior officials from at least eight East Asian and Pacific nations during a 13-day trip to the region, a senior U.S. diplomat says.
In addition, Clinton is scheduled to address the East Asia Summit being held in Vietnam’s capital, Hanoi, on October 30, Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said at a briefing October 26 in Washington. It is Clinton’s sixth major trip to the region and “is intended to send a strong message of U.S. engagement on a range of issues” — strategic, political and economic.
From October 27 to November 8, Clinton is traveling to Hawaii, Guam, Vietnam, Hainan Island in China, Cambodia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, Australia and American Samoa. The secretary’s trip overlaps with President Obama’s travel to India, Indonesia, South Korea and Japan November 6–14.
“At every stop, the secretary will highlight both political and economic interactions, a desire to promote U.S. exports and see a more forward engagement on economic matters,” Campbell said. He is the assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs.
During a stopover in Honolulu on October 27, Clinton will meet with Japanese Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara to discuss all areas of the U.S.-Japanese relationship, Campbell said. Clinton will deliver a significant foreign policy speech at the East-West Center on U.S. engagement with the region, which will be similar to one she gave in January, he added.
After leaving Honolulu, Clinton will stop briefly in Guam to meet with U.S. forces stationed there and with Governor Felix Camacho and other representatives of the U.S. territory.
In Hanoi, Clinton will participate in the East Asia Summit that is being held by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) along with six other nations from around the region, and as a guest of the chairman will make an address to the summit, Campbell said.
ASEAN includes Indonesia, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Burma.
In addition to the multilateral meetings taking place, the secretary will meet with the Vietnamese leadership on issues of closer coordination between the United States and Vietnam. This follows the secretary’s visit to Hanoi in July as part of the ASEAN Regional Forum.
Clinton will also meet with representatives on the Lower Mekong Initiative, which is a collection of states that all share the Mekong River as part of their heritage. The United States will discuss the next steps associated with U.S. assistance and a program for cooperation that links the Mississippi River and the Mekong, two of the world’s great rivers, Campbell told reporters.
From Hanoi Clinton travels to Hainan Island in the South China Sea, where she will hold extensive talks with her counterpart in the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue, State Counselor Dai Bingguo.
“We will review the various issues in the U.S.-China relationship, make sure that we’re making adequate preparations for both the upcoming G20 [Group of 20] meeting, [the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum], and particularly for the session that will take place in January, when [Chinese President] Hu Jintao visits the United States in the early part of 2011,” Campbell added.
The secretary will hold consultations with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and Foreign Minister Hor Namhong and highlight civil society projects and other issues in which the United States is deeply engaged, such as the Peace Corps, Campbell said. Clinton will stop in Malaysia November 1 to meet with senior officials, discuss enhanced ties, promote trade and discuss educational exchanges.
On November 3 Clinton will meet in Papua New Guinea with Prime Minister Michael Somare and other senior government officials, women leaders and environmental experts. Campbell said this stop is part of a larger effort by the United States to enhance engagement in the Pacific.
“There are important issues on the island of biodiversity, issues associated with the status of women, and also questions associated about how the current government plans to manage this tremendous windfall that will be coming to the people of Papua New Guinea through this massive find of petroleum and natural gas,” Campbell said.
Clinton then stops in New Zealand for political, security and economic talks, Campbell said. In Australia Clinton will be joined by U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates to meet with Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd and Defense Minister Stephen Smith for the 25th anniversary of the annual Australia–United States Ministerial Consultations to discuss regional and global security issues. Clinton will also meet with Prime Minister Julia Gillard.
The secretary will make a brief stopover on the trip back to the United States in American Samoa, Campbell said.
(This is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://www.america.gov)
