The 11th summit for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit and related events took place at the National Convention Center Thursday in Vientiane, the capital of Laos. The summit occurs twice yearly to encourage economic and cultural development of Southeast Asian countries; last year it was held in Malaysia.
The summit format usually brings together the ASEAN countries, then later adds in the ASEAN Dialogue Partners, namely China, Japan and South Korea to talks to create the ‘ASEAN+3’ group.
In a closing ceremony, the chairmanship of the bloc and hosting of the summit has now passed to the Philippines and its President Rodrigo Duterte.
President Obama joined the summit and is the first sitting American president to visit Laos. It’s part of his efforts to advance the U.S.-Laos relationship
During a gala dinner in conjunction with the ASEAN summit, Prime Minister Najib and Obama exchanged greetings. Prime Minister Najib posted a photo on his Facebook page, saying that he “had a pleasant chat with President Barack Obama”:
Two years ago, President Obama became the first US president to visit Malaysia since President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1966. President Obama visited Malaysia as part of efforts to strengthen trade relations between the two countries.
During that trip in 2014, Najib took this selfie with the President and shared it to his Twitter account.
My selfie with President Obama ! pic.twitter.com/mr94wZtmuA
— Mohd Najib Tun Razak (@NajibRazak) 27 April 2014
You can read more about President Obama’s 2014 visit to Malaysia here.
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