US President Joe Biden understands the importance of APEC, and both Thailand and the US are coordinating to find a way for the President to attend the leader’s meeting in Bangkok, according to Tanee Sangrat, Spokesperson for Thailand’s Foreign Affairs Ministry, adding that they were informed that there is to be a wedding at the White House in November, around the time of the APEC meeting.
The brief statement followed a report by Thai PBS World last night that the US President will not attend the APEC leaders’ meeting in Bangkok due to “a family engagement”, while the Thai embassy in Washington DC was informed that Biden had delegated Vice President Kamala Harris to represent him at the November 18th and 19th meeting.
Harris will fly to Bangkok and attend only the two-day summit before returning to the US.
The last in-person APEC summit was held in Papua New Guinea in 2018. Then U.S. president Donald Trump did not attend the meeting either and assigned Vice President Mike Pence to represent the U.S.
