US hosts ASEAN summit next May - WH

US President Joe Biden will host a special summit with ASEAN leaders on May 12-13, a White House statement said Saturday. According to Press Secretary Jen Psaki, President Biden will host the Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on the aforementioned date as the Summit will "demonstrate the United States' enduring commitment to ASEAN, recognizing its central role in delivering sustainable solutions to the region's most pressing challenges, and commemorate 45 years of US-ASEAN relations. "It will build on President Biden's participation in the October 2021 US-ASEAN Summit, where the President announced USD 102 million in new initiatives to expand our engagement with ASEAN on COVID-19 recovery and health security, fighting the climate crisis, stimulating broad-based economic growth, promoting gender equality, and deepening people-to-people ties. "It is a top priority for the Biden-Harris Administration to serve as a strong, reliable partner in Southeast Asia. Our shared aspirations for the region will continue to underpin our common commitment to advance an Indo-Pacific that is free and open, secure, connected, and resilient." Established in 1967, ASEAN includes Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Brunei and Myanmar.