(VOVworld) - Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and the Pacific, Daniel Russel, said Friday that the upcoming summit between US President Barack Obama and Southeast Asian leaders will be a strategic talk focusing on boosting reforms and trading in the Pacific region.

A regular meeting of the ASEAN Committee in Washington on January 07th, 2016. (Photo credit to Vietnamese Embassy to the US)

Scheduled for February in the US, summit participants will discuss ways to enhance integration within the framework of the new ASEAN Community, trade, and investment. Also high on the agenda will be methods to improve new ways of thinking and areas that can generate new opportunities and prosperity for the Pacific.

Russell said the meeting the first hosted by the US for Southeast Asian leaders will be held in a model different to formal diplomatic discussions to encourage strategic and open debates.

He said such kind of a meeting reflects strong personal ties between President Obama and each leader of ASEAN countries proving the effectiveness of Obama’s Asia policy.

As scheduled, Russell will arrive in Laos, which is holding the ASEAN Presidency in 2016 and then Cambodia to discuss preparations for the 2-day US-ASEAN summit at the Sunnylands estate in California.