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WASHINGTON - US President George W. Bush is expected to hold his first summit with all 10 Southeast Asian leaders in September.
The landmark meeting is aimed at highlighting 30 years of official ties between Washington and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said.
President Bush has visited Southeast Asia twice since he came into office in 2001, "and we look forward to his third visit when he attends the ASEAN-US Commemorative Summit in Singapore in September," Mr Lee said at a forum in Washington ahead of talks with Bush at the White House on Friday.
Noting that Bush's predecessor Bill Clinton had also visited Southeast Asia three times, Mr Lee said, "this bipartisan engagement is encouraging".
Bush has over the last couple of years met annually with leaders of seven ASEAN states -- Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore,
Thailand and Vietnam -- which are also members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum at the sidelines of the forum's annual talks.
ASEAN's other members -- Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar -- are not APEC members.
Myanmar has been a thorn in relations between ASEAN and Washington, which has imposed investment and trade sanctions on Yangon, where the ruling military is accused of massive human rights violations, suppression of political dissent and refusal to bring democratic reforms.
PM Lee said "ASEAN-US relations should not be held hostage by" Myanmar, which "is undoubtedly a concern, including to other ASEAN members".
"The US has a broader strategic interest in ASEAN, and should not allow this single matter to hinder its efforts to actively engage ASEAN countries, both individually and as a group," he said.
PM Lee, whose country holds the rotating chair of ASEAN this year, said that the 30th anniversary of US-ASEAN engagement was a "timely opportunity to bring the relationship to a higher level".
He suggested collaboration in energy and the environment, and on the prevention of transboundary pollution and stepped up cooperation in the fight against terrorism and health pandemics such as HIV/AIDS and avian flu. – AFP/ir
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