WASHINGTON– The White House announces US President cancelled his Asia trip because of ongoing government shutdown.
US President Barack Obama cancelled on Thursday his tour of Indonesia and Brunei that was set to begin this week.
“The president made this decision based on the difficulty in moving forward with foreign travel in the face of a shutdown, and his determination to continue pressing his case that Republicans should immediately allow a vote to reopen the government,” the White House said in a statement.
The US president will miss the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum (APEC) in Bali, Indonesia on Saturday and then a separate Asia security summit in Brunei.
Secretary of State John Kerry will attend the summits in place of Obama, the White House said.
“The cancellation of this trip is another consequence of the House Republicans forcing a shutdown of the government,” the White House said in a statement.
“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. The President looks forward to continuing his work with our allies and partners in the Asia-Pacific and to returning to the region at a later date,” the statement added.
The White House had announced that Obama would postpone his visits to Malaysia and the Philippines that were scheduled to take place after the summits.
On Tuesday, the US government began a partial shutdown after the two houses of Congress failed to agree a new budget.
Democrats and Republicans appeared no closer to resolving the deadlock on Friday.
Obama expressed his regret for the cancellation on by calling Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
The White House said the Sultan of Brunei and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Thursday night to express his regret.
