US President Biden May Skip APEC Economic Leaders' Week Meeting

BANGKOK, Sept 25 (Bernama) -- United States (US) President Joe Biden may skip the 29th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ Week (AELW) Meeting in Bangkok in November due to family engagement. However, Thailand and the US are coordinating to find a way for the president to attend the meeting. Thailand's Director-General of the Information Department and spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Tanee Sangrat confirmed that “there would be a wedding at the White House”. “The President sees the importance of APEC and both Thailand and the US are coordinating to find a way for the President to attend the meeting in Bangkok,” he said. Earlier, Thai PBS reported that Biden will not attend APEC leaders’ meeting in Bangkok due to “a family engagement”. The reports said the White House has informed the Thai Embassy in Washington DC that the president has delegated Vice President Kamala Harris to represent him at the Nov 18-19 leaders’ meeting. Harris will fly to Bangkok and attend only the two-day summit. The reports said Biden will join the G20 summit in Bali on Nov 15-16. Biden had previously planned to proceed to Bangkok for a one-day stopover to attend the APEC leaders’ meeting. -- BERNAMA