President Obama Meets with Asian Leaders in Cambodia

President Barack Obama delivers opening remarks at the U.S. – ASEAN Leaders Meeting at Peace Palace in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Nov. 19, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

In Cambodia, President Obama’s final stop on his trip to Asia, the President met with the leaders of the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN) to deepen our ties with members of the key Asian multilateral organization.

ASEAN is the United States’ fourth largest export market, and includes two of our treaty allies, one of our closest security partners, several emerging regional powers. Additionally, its nations are located along some of the world’s most important trading routes and sea lines of communication. 

While in Phnom Penh, President Obama also attended the East Asia Summit, a gathering of leaders from ASEAN as well as six other Asia-Pacific powers. The United States’ economic and security future is inextricably linked to the region, and President Obama used the summit to explore with other Asia-Pacific leaders ways to enhance cooperation on the region’s most pressing challenges, including energy, maritime security, non-proliferation, and humanitarian assistance and disaster response.

Before the Summit, President Obama held meetings with Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda of Japan and Premier Wen Jiabao of China.

President Barack Obama is welcomed by Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen as he arrives at the Peace Palace in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Nov. 19, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)

For more information:

• Fact Sheet: U.S.-ASEAN Leaders Meeting
• Fact Sheet: East Asia Summit Outcomes
• Read about all the stops on President Obama's trip to Asia