(VOVworld) - US President Barack Obama has canceled plan to visit Indonesia and Brunei. This means that he will be absent from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Indonesia and ASEAN meetings in Brunei.
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said the president made this decision based on the difficulty in moving forward with foreign travel in the face of the current government shutdown and his determination to continue his efforts to push Republicans vote to reopen the government.
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| US President Barack Obama delivers remarks on the government funding impasse on October 3, 2013. (Photo: Reuters) |
According to Carney’s statement, the cancellation of this trip is another consequence of the House Republicans forcing a shutdown of the government which set back job creation through export promotion and hindered the US leadership and interests in the largest emerging region in the world. He stressed Obama’s wish to continue cooperating with his allies and partners in the Asia-Pacific region and wish to visit the region in the future.
Secretary of State John Kerry, already on a trip to Asia, will visit Indonesia and Brunei in place of the president.
Obama planned to tour Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia, and the Philippines from October 6th to 12th to discuss economics and security. He announced his cancellation of the visit to Malaysia and the Philippines on Tuesday.