President Obama continues his visit to Asia this week, meeting with leaders from the ten members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and other nations at the US-ASEAN Summit and the East Asia Summit in Vientiane, Laos. The trip is historic in that it is both Obama’s first trip to Laos as president, as well as his final trip to Asia before the end of his term. In a recent piece in The Diplomat ahead of Obama’s trip, Dr. Satu Limaye, Director of the East-West Center in Washington, analyzes ASEAN’s long-term durability and lays out its utility to US interests.
For additional information on ASEAN’s importance to the US and vice versa, please see the most recent ASEAN Matters for America/America Matters for ASEAN publication and explore these facts and figures on trade, investment, students, and more.