Friday 4 October 2013

Obama Cancels Asia Trip Over US Shutdown


US President Barack Obama has announced the cancellation of his trip to Asia, sequel to the US government shutdown.

He will miss two summits, including the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) meeting in Indonesia.

The White House said the decision was made due to the "difficulty in moving forward with foreign travel in the face of a shutdown".

The US government closed non-essential operations after the two houses of Congress failed to agree a new budget.

Mr Obama was reported to have called Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono Friday morning to express his regret for the cancellation, Indonesian Presidential Spokesman for Foreign Affairs Teuku Faizasyah told the BBC.

Secretary of State John Kerry will attend the APEC gathering and the East Asia summit in Brunei in Mr Obama's place, the White House said.

The White House said in a statement, "The cancellation of this trip is another consequence of the House Republicans forcing a shutdown of the government.

"This completely avoidable shutdown is setting back our ability to create jobs through promotion of US exports and advance US leadership and interests in the largest emerging region in the world."

Mr Obama had been due to begin a four-nation Asian trip on Saturday, heading to Bali and Brunei for regional summits before travelling on to Malaysia and the Philippines.

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