Bangkok - US President Barack Obama plans to invite the 10 leaders of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) to Washington next year to further strengthen ties with the region, media reports said Sunday. "Kurt Campbell, the assistant state secretary for East Asia and Pacific, revealed during an informal talk with international participants attending a conference in Washington on Burma (Myanmar) last week that Obama would make an official (invitation) announcement during the upcoming ASEAN-US summit in Singapore," The Nation newspaper reported.
Campbell is scheduled to visit Myanmar this week to discuss Washington's "re-engagement" policy with the pariah state, a member of ASEAN since 1997.
Obama will meet with seven of the ASEAN leaders in Singapore on November 15 after attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.
APEC's 21 members include Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, The Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Taipei, Thailand, the US and Vietnam.
APEC excludes ASEAN members Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar.
Since taking office in January, Obama has pursued a policy of re-engagement with South-East Asia, a region increasingly sidelined by the faster economic growth and diplomatic clout of Asian giants China and India.
In Singapore, the ASEAN-US meeting is expected to discuss the possibility of a free trade agreement between the US and South- East Asia, The Nation said.
