U.S. President Hosts ASEAN Leaders at White House

U.S. President H.E. Joe Biden hosted on May 12 (time in Washington D.C.) a dinner in honour of ASEAN leaders, including Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia and Chair of ASEAN 2022, after taking a commemorative family photo at the White House.

H.E. Joe Biden expressed his warm welcome to all ASEAN leaders attending the ASEAN-U.S. Special Summit. “This evening, I welcomed ASEAN leaders to the White House for the first time in history, and reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to Southeast Asia. We discussed the importance of working together to ensure security, prosperity, and respect for human rights for our one billion people,” he tweeted yesterday.

On Friday, H.E. Joe Biden and ASEAN leaders will exchange views on regional and global issues.

Ms. Jen Psaki, U.S. Press Secretary said at the press briefing on May 12, 2022 that Ukraine will absolutely be on the agenda of the ASEAN-U.S. Special Summit.

“In terms of what the final communiqué will look like, I don’t expect it will be ready for more than 24 hours. And there’s lots of conversations that need to happen between now and then, so I can’t make a prediction of it,” she said.

Ms. Jen Psaki continued that a number of the ASEAN participants have been important partners in calling out the aggressive action of Russia and invading Ukraine, in participating and in supporting sanctions and, certainly, abiding by them. “And obviously, the conflict we’re seeing is a unique moment in modern global history. So it will certainly be on the agenda,” she added.

For the Friday’s agenda of the summit, ASEAN leaders will receive Vice President Kamala Harris’ host for a working lunch, focusing on maritime cooperation and health/pandemic recovery, then she will host a discussion with the ASEAN leaders and some U.S senior officials regarding climate action, clean energy transformation, and sustainable infrastructure.

Source: Agency Kampuchea Press