Clinton Talks Trade, Investment, Not Burma at the ASEAN Summit

November 18, 2011

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton delivers her speech during ASEAN Business and Investment Summit held on the sidelines of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Nusa Dua, Indonesia, November 18, 2011.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is promoting U.S. economic engagement with Asia during the East Asia Summit in Bali. The secretary focused her public remarks on increasing economic ties to the region

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In an address to a group attending an ASEAN Business Summit, Secretary Clinton spoke about one of the main objectives of the U.S. policy of increased engagement in Southeast Asia, creating more business opportunities and jobs for Americans.

“We each recognize that economic policy is foreign policy and foreign policy is economic policy. And by strengthening diplomacy and presence abroad, we can strengthen our economies back home and actually vice-versa,” Clinton said.

The Secretary of State said while trade between the U.S. and Southeast Asia has tripled over the last 20 years, it still accounts for only 6 percent of U.S. global trade. And with the region home to some of the fastest economies in the world, rich in natural resources and growing domestic markets, the potential for American trade and investment opportunities is great.

The United States however is competing with China to develop southeast Asian markets. ASEAN Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan says China is currently the number one trading partner with ASEAN countries.