Photo: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken/AFP
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will attend the ASEAN-related summits later this week in Laos on behalf of President Joe Biden, according to an informed source.
The source said that Blinken will arrive in Vientiane on Thursday to participate in a series of meetings with ASEAN and its dialogue partners at the summit level.
He is scheduled to attend the 12th ASEAN-US Summit on Friday and later take part in the 19th East Asia Summit on the same day.
The Lao chair has organized both the 44th and 45th ASEAN summits back-to-back from October 9 to 11. There will be a total of two dozen summits among ASEAN members and with leaders from dialogue partner countries.
The source added that Blinken will also have several bilateral meetings with ASEAN members, including Thailand, during his visit to Vientiane.
Last year, ASEAN-US two-way trade reached US$395.9 billion, making the US the second-largest trading partner after China. The U.S. also invested US$74.4 billion in ASEAN last year, accounting for 32.4% of the bloc’s foreign direct investment.
Under the Biden administration, the US has initiated new areas of cooperation and assistance, such as the digital economy, trade facilitation, and support for micro, small, and medium enterprises.
