Obama to Begin His Asian Trip
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
President Obama is set to travel to Asia on a 9-day trip and plans to visit Japan, Singapore, China and South Korea. The President will stipulate to these countries how important these nations must act as partners in major issues such as nuclear non-proliferation, economic growth, climate change and the war in Afghanistan.
President Obama is sparing no time talking to these leaders as a group and individually. He has planned a bilateral meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, and will be the first U.S. president to participate in a summit of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) economic alliance.
In a reflection to the country he called home while living in Asia as a young boy, President Obama will participate in a bilateral meeting with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of Indonesia. He lived there from 1967 to 1971.
Besides the business side of the trip, President Obama plans to include a "town hall" meeting in China and a sightseeing tour in Beijing, and a very formal non business meeting with the emperor and empress of Japan.
The president will meet with new Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, Medvedev and Yudhoyono, and will take part in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation and ASEAN summits.
Further details on the happenings of this trip will be reported each day. Before leaving, President Obama met several times with his war council in an attempt to determine how many troops he may plan to send to Afghanistan. President Obama has been deliberating on sending troops to Afghanistan for the last three months, in an attempt to come up with the correct plan and strategy for the deployment. His strategy will most likely be to send troops to the southern part of the country of Afghanistan, but he also will consider advisement by the president of Afghanistan before sending troops.
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