In a historic visit to Laos Tuesday, President Barack Obama and Laotian President Bounnhang Vorachith held talks in the capital city Vientiane, officially inaugurating a comprehensive partnership between the two nations.
The visit will be Obama’s final stop in Asia as president, but also marks the first time a sitting American President has visited Laos, who is hosting the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN summit.
According to the White House, the partnership is “intended to contribute to peace, stability, cooperation, and prosperity in each country.” It will improve education, economic, humanitarian and diplomatic efforts between the two countries.
“The United States does not seek to impose our will on Laos,” Obama said. “Rather, we seek a relationship based on mutual respect, including respect for your independence and your sovereignty.”
As part of this cooperation, Obama announced that the U.S. will contribute $90 million in an effort to address the problems caused by unexploded ordnance (UXO), which was the byproduct of the U.S. involvement in Vietnam.
During the Vietnam War, the United States dropped more than two million tons of bombs in Laos, making it the most heavily bombed country in history. Since that time, more than 50,000 civilians have been maimed or killed by unexploded ordnance – more than 40 percent being children.
The two countries have also been cooperating efforts to find missing Americans lost during the Vietnam War. Together, they have recovered and identified the bodies of 273 missing Americans. The partnership will help to continue efforts for finding the remaining 301 Americans.
President Obama promised to bring the Let Girls Learn Initiative to Laos as part of the U.S. effort to improve education in the area. The United States will also fund meal programs to make sure every child can concentrate on school.
“Given our history here, I believe that the United States has a moral obligation to help Laos heal,” said Obama.
The White House has said that expanded engagement with Southeast Asia is central to the U.S. rebalance to Asia. The ASEAN summit will give Obama the opportunity to further relations with ASEAN members, and will be a final push to rebalance U.S. foreign policies towards Asia.
