​The US increases cooperation in many fields with Southeast Asian countries

In Myanmar, the final stop on a three-nation tour of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker discussed with Myanmar’s leader boosting investment, focusing on energy, agriculture and trade with the Southeast Asian nation.

News reports said Ms. Pritzker's trip to Vietnam, the Philippines and Myanmar will focus mainly on economic topics in US President Barack Obama's policy of rebalancing strategy in Asia.

US Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker. (Source: AFP)

According to Ms. Pritzker, Asia-Pacific is expected to become home to 54% of the world’s middle class and import nearly $10 trillion in goods and services by 2022, double the current level. By 2020, the 10 ASEAN member states need more than $1 trillion in infrastructure investment to meet the needs of their growing populations.

Mr. Alexander Feldman, President of the US-ASEAN Business Council, said the visit aimed to express the confidence of the US business community in the economic development prospects of the Southeast Asian region, including Vietnam and the Philippines. At the same time, the visit also carried a message reaffirming the long-term commitment of US companies in Vietnam in particular and Southeast Asia in general.

During a visit to Manila on June 4, US Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker said the US has invested heavily in diplomatic, economic and strategic resources in many different regions of the world. The US is now committed to a policy of "correcting the imbalance and increasing the US presence in Asia."

During her visit, Ms. Penny Pritzker expressed concern about China's aggressive actions in the East Sea, causing tension in the region and adversely affecting the business environment. Ms. Pritzker said that the US has a national interest in maintaining peace, trade, freedom of navigation and freedom of flight, and that the country supports diplomatic and legal measures to resolve disputes in the East Sea.

Meanwhile, the Washington-based CSIS think tank said that US trade with ASEAN partners is improving strongly, with bilateral trade increasing by 71% in the 2001-2012 period, from 137 billion USD to 234 billion USD./.

According to VNA