Secretary Clinton's Travel to East Asia

Secretary Clinton's Travel to East Asia

Press Statement

Victoria Nuland
Department Spokesperson, Office of the Spokesperson

Washington, DC

July 12, 2011

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Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will travel to Indonesia and Hong Kong July 21-25, 2011.

Secretary Clinton arrives in Bali, Indonesia on July 21 after concluding a two day stop in India. Her visit to Indonesia demonstrates the United States’ sustained commitment to enhance our strategic engagement in Southeast Asia and with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The Secretary will participate on July 22 for the third time in the ASEAN Post Ministerial Conference (PMC), hosted by Indonesia as ASEAN Chair. She will also meet with foreign ministers of the East Asia Summit (EAS), in preparation for President Obama’s participation for the first time in the EAS in November. Secretary Clinton will then host the fourth Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI) Ministerial Meeting with the foreign ministers of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam. Following this meeting, the Secretary will host the first “Friends of the Lower Mekong” (FLM) meeting, which will serve as a forum to encourage coordination of efforts with other partners in the lower Mekong region. In addition, the United States looks forward to hosting a trilateral meeting with the Government of Japan and the Republic of Korea. She will also participate in a number of bilateral meetings with her counterparts in the region.

On July 23 in Bali, Secretary Clinton will lead the U.S. delegation to the 18^th ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) to discuss regional security issues. She will then deliver opening remarks at the first-ever Regional Entrepreneurship Summit (RES), a follow-on to the Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship hosted by President Obama in April 2010, during which Secretary Clinton launched the State Department’s Global Entrepreneurship Program (GEP).

On July 24, Secretary Clinton will meet with Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa to discuss key bilateral, regional, and global issues. Following their bilateral meeting, Secretary Clinton and Foreign Minister Natalegawa will co-chair the Joint Commission of the U.S.-Indonesia Comprehensive Partnership, representing President Obama and President Yudhoyono’s long-term commitment to broadening, deepening, and elevating bilateral relations between our two countries.

In Hong Kong on July 25, Secretary Clinton will meet with Chief Executive Donald Tsang and with members of the Hong Kong Legislative Council. Later that day, she will deliver remarks underscoring U.S. economic leadership in the Asia-Pacific.