Myanmar on Obama agenda
November 8, 2009, Sunday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
US President Barack Obama will meet leaders of Southeast Asian nations, including Myanmar, in a high-level affirmation of Washington's new policy of engaging the military-ruled country.
The November 15 meeting between Obama and leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations will take place on the sidelines of an annual summit of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Singapore, US Ambassador for ASEAN Affairs Scot Marciel said yesterday.
Myanmar's Prime Minister Thein Sein will attend the meeting, which marks the 32nd anniversary of Washington's relations with ASEAN, senior Myanmar diplomat Min Lwin said in Manila, the Philippines.
The junta chief, Senior General Than Shwe, typically shuns official meetings outside Myanmar.
The talks are to be the highest-level contact between Myanmar and the United States in decades.
Officials have not said if Obama will meet privately with Thein Sein. The last US president to meet a Myanmar head of state was Lyndon B. Johnson, who held talks with then Prime Minister Ne Win in 1966 during a state visit to Washington, according to Richard Mei, the US Embassy spokesman in Myanmar.
Under Obama, Washington has reversed the Bush administration's policy of shunning Myanmar in favor of direct talks with the Southeast Asian country that has been ruled by the military since 1962.
Myanmar welcomes the shift in US policy, Min Lwin said, describing the change as "positive."
Marciel and Min Lwin were in Manila along with other senior ASEAN diplomats to finalize the agenda for Obama's meeting with ASEAN leaders. The talks will focus on trade, energy, health, climate change, food security, disaster response and security issues, Philippine Foreign Undersecretary Enrique Manalo said.
"What we're trying to do is to step up and increase our engagement with ASEAN," Marciel said.
Philippine Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo has said ASEAN welcomes the Obama administration's new policy of engagement with Myanmar.
"All of us talk with Myanmar," he said. "There is no harm in talking."
Seven ASEAN member states - Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam - belong to APEC, which includes the United States and other Western nations.
The November 15 meeting between Obama and leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations will take place on the sidelines of an annual summit of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Singapore, US Ambassador for ASEAN Affairs Scot Marciel said yesterday.
Myanmar's Prime Minister Thein Sein will attend the meeting, which marks the 32nd anniversary of Washington's relations with ASEAN, senior Myanmar diplomat Min Lwin said in Manila, the Philippines.
The junta chief, Senior General Than Shwe, typically shuns official meetings outside Myanmar.
The talks are to be the highest-level contact between Myanmar and the United States in decades.
Officials have not said if Obama will meet privately with Thein Sein. The last US president to meet a Myanmar head of state was Lyndon B. Johnson, who held talks with then Prime Minister Ne Win in 1966 during a state visit to Washington, according to Richard Mei, the US Embassy spokesman in Myanmar.
Under Obama, Washington has reversed the Bush administration's policy of shunning Myanmar in favor of direct talks with the Southeast Asian country that has been ruled by the military since 1962.
Myanmar welcomes the shift in US policy, Min Lwin said, describing the change as "positive."
Marciel and Min Lwin were in Manila along with other senior ASEAN diplomats to finalize the agenda for Obama's meeting with ASEAN leaders. The talks will focus on trade, energy, health, climate change, food security, disaster response and security issues, Philippine Foreign Undersecretary Enrique Manalo said.
"What we're trying to do is to step up and increase our engagement with ASEAN," Marciel said.
Philippine Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo has said ASEAN welcomes the Obama administration's new policy of engagement with Myanmar.
"All of us talk with Myanmar," he said. "There is no harm in talking."
Seven ASEAN member states - Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam - belong to APEC, which includes the United States and other Western nations.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
