TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - US President Donald Trump will attend three important summits in Asia this November, as a sign of firm and unwavering commitment to building strong foundation shared between US and Asian nations, Vice President Michael Pence confirmed.
President Trump is planning to attend the US-ASEAN summit and the East Asia summit in the Philippines, as well as the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Vietnam.
"Our relationship without any doubt has benefited both ASEAN and America, diplomatically, economically and from the standpoint of national security," he said while visiting the headquarters of Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Jakarta, Thursday.
Due to strengthening economic ties, US and ASEAN have been creating jobs and supporting people's prosperity.
American exports to ASEAN member countries already supported more than 550,000 jobs in the US and almost 42,000 US companies export more than US$100 billion of goods and services to ASEAN nations every year.
Amazingly, according to Pence, US companies invest more in ASEAN and its member states than any other parts of Asia.
"(The amount is) nearly US$274 billion which is, in fact, more than our investment in China, India, and Japan combined," he said.
US will also continue to support information sharing and security efforts to protect people's life from terrorism and violence that has become a global threat.
In addition, the US will work closely with ASEAN to encourage peace and stability in the South China Sea by assuring rules based order, lawful and unimpeded access to commerce, and encouraging peaceful diplomatic resolution of dispute.
For 40 years, the US has been working side by side with ASEAN to foster peace and prosperity in the sea and on the land.
"Under President Trump's administration, US is always taking steps to strengthen our partnership with ASEAN and deepen our friendship," Pence marked.
ANTARA
