About the Author: Megan Slack serves at the White House.
On March 12, 2013, President Obama hosted His Majesty the Sultan of Brunei for a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office to affirm the relationship between our two countries that dates back more than 160 years.
The two leaders discussed their shared interest in a strong, peaceful, and prosperous Asia-Pacific region, and continued cooperation between our nations on a range of issues.
With Brunei set to host October’s ASEAN East Asia Summit meeting, President Obama said they would be working together on “everything from how we deal with issues of energy and climate change to how we expand commerce, potentially through the Trans-Pacific Partnership that has the opportunity of creating jobs and prosperity…more »
Multilateral Organizations Play Increasingly Important Role in the Asia-Pacific
Regional multilateral organizations play an increasingly important role in the Asia-Pacific and the United States further strengthened its engagement with these institutions. The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), East Asia Summit (EAS), and the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) all play a vital role in mobilizing common action for shared concerns. President Obama made his fifth trip to the region in November to attend the East Asia Summit and meet the leaders of the 10 member states of ASEAN. The trip included… more »
President Obama Meets With Asian Leaders in Cambodia
In Cambodia, President Obama’s final stop on his trip to Asia, the President met with the leaders of the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN) to deepen our ties with members of the key Asian multilateral organization.
ASEAN is the United States’ fourth largest export market, and includes two of our treaty allies, one of our closest security partners, several emerging regional powers. Additionally, its nations are located along some of the world’s most important trading routes and sea lines of communication.
While in Phnom Penh, President Obama also attended the East Asia Summit, a gathering of leaders from ASEAN as well as six other Asia-Pacific powers. The United States’ economic and security future is inextricably linked to the… more »
U.S. President Barack Obama and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton meet with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda for a bilateral meeting during the East Asia Summit at the Peace Palace in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, November 20, 2012. President Obama is the first U.S. President to visit Cambodia. [State Department photo by William Ng/ Public Domain]
FACT SHEET On The U.S.-Asia Pacific Comprehensive Partnership For A Sustainable Energy
The White House Office of the Press Secretary November 20, 2012
Recognizing that energy and the environment are among the most pressing issues confronting our region, President Obama, in partnership with Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei and President of the Republic of Indonesia Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, today proposed the U.S.-Asia Pacific Comprehensive Partnership for a Sustainable Energy Future. The Partnership will offer a framework for consolidating and expanding energy and environmental cooperation across existing regional forums to advance efforts to ensure affordable, secure, and cleaner energy supplies for the region. Bilateral and multilateral energy and environmental initiatives are flourishing in the Asia Pacific, and the United States, in partnership with Brunei and Indonesia, will help coordinate and enhance these efforts, share best practices, and leverage existing initiatives across the various forums that undertake this work.
The Partnership will build upon the existing energy initiatives in the region, including the ASEAN-United States Energy Cooperation Work Plan, the APEC Energy Working Group, the East Asia Summit Energy Ministers and other forums to expand practical cooperation across the region, promote greater energy connectivity and integration, and encourage collaborative work across these and other forums, including through joint capacity building efforts.
The Partnership will drive investment and facilitate progress on four key regional priorities: renewables and cleaner energy; markets and interconnectivity; the emerging role of natural gas; and sustainable development. We will engage with the private sector as well as partner countries in the region to determine specific projects within these four priority areas. We will work closely with the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank to enhance their work in the region on these issues. With an estimated $9 trillion needed in investment in electricity alone through 2035 to meet growing demand in the region, there is enormous potential for U.S. industry to play an important role in the region’s energy future. MORE
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton participates in the ASEAN-United States Leaders’ Meeting at the Peace Palace in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, November 19, 2012. [State Department photo by William Ng/Public Domain]
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton delivers remarks at a ASEAN Ministerial meeting in New York, New York on September 27, 2012. A text transcript can be found at http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2012/09/198343.htm.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton delivers remarks at the inaugural launch of the Brunei-U.S. English Language Enrichment Project for ASEAN in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei. September 7, 2012. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton met with senior Indonesian officials, including President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Foreign Minister Raden Mohammad Marty Muliana Natalegawa, to discuss the U.S.-Indonesia Comprehensive Partnership, September 3-4. Secretary Clinton also held a bilateral meeting with ASEAN Secretary General Surin to emphasize the United States’ commitment to building an enduring, multi-faceted relationship between ASEAN and the United States.
In her meeting with Indonesian Foreign Minister… more »
Meeting With ASEAN Secretary General Surin
Remarks Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State Jakarta, Indonesia September 4, 2012
SECRETARY CLINTON: …In short, we are making a sustained, all-out effort to build an enduring, multi-faceted relationship between ASEAN and the United States. We want to do all we can to advance ASEAN’s goal of integration, because we have an interest in strengthening ASEAN’s ability to address regional challenges in an effective, comprehensive way.
And we really invite and need ASEAN to lead in crafting strong, regional responses to challenges like climate change and trans-national crime, which require collective actions. And we need ASEAN to lead in upholding a system of rules and responsibilities that will protect regional stability and guide the region to greater political and economic progress.
So, Dr. Surin, it is a great honor for me now to have returned for a second visit to conduct, if you will, a progress report among partners and friends, and to state once again what I have said in other contexts. The United States believes in ASEAN centrality, and ASEAN centrality is essential to ASEAN unity. So I am looking forward to our exchange today and the dialogue among us, looking forward to continuing to work on behalf of the U.S.-ASEAN relationship. MORE
![U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton poses for the ASEAN family photo in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on July 12, 2012. [State Department photo by William Ng/ Public Domain]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2013_0117_clinton_asean_m.jpg)
![President Barack Obama delivers opening remarks at the U.S.-ASEAN Leaders' Meeting at Peace Palace in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, November 19, 2012. [Official White House Photo by Pete Souza]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_1120_potus_cambodia_m.jpg)
![U.S. President Barack Obama and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton meet with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda for a bilateral meeting during the East Asia Summit at the Peace Palace in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, November 20, 2012. President Obama is the first U.S. President to visit Cambodia. [State Department photo by William Ng/ Public Domain]](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mdsnsr2FjS1qcug8io1_500.jpg)
![U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton participates in the ASEAN-United States Leaders’ Meeting at the Peace Palace in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, November 19, 2012. [State Department photo by William Ng/Public Domain]](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mdskkz6aJh1qcug8io1_500.jpg)
![U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton delivers remarks at the inaugural launch of the Brunei-U.S. English Language Enrichment Project for ASEAN in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei. September 7, 2012. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m9znusT9Ao1qcug8io1_500.jpg)
