WASHINGTON (AP) – President Barack Obama is jetting away from Washington’s political and budget battles as he prepares to focus on Asia-Pacific nations.
Obama departed Friday for summits in Hawaii and Indonesia and a visit to Australia in between. He’ll first have a stopover in San Diego where he’ll attend a Veterans Day basketball game between Michigan State and No. 1 North Carolina on the flight deck of the USS Carl Vinson. That’s the aircraft carrier that took Osama bin Laden’s body to a burial at sea.
Over the weekend, the president will host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Honolulu, to promote trade and jobs.
The big push for Obama will be establishing a Pacific-wide free trade zone that is now being negotiated by the United States and eight smaller economies.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
See the original article at: KHON2 Local News
