US still undecided on who will attend Apec Summit in Thailand: Blinken
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday night that he still cannot confirm if President Joe Biden will attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Summit in November.
Blinken was speaking to reporters after meeting Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, who had indicated that he would like to see Biden at the summit. Prayut said he wanted to see the US president at the summit so that the Apec chairmanship can be handed over seamlessly. Also, China has recently confirmed that President Xi Jinping will be attending.
The Apec Summit will bring together world leaders on November 18-19, and if Biden attends then this will be the first time that the leaders of the two most powerful nations will come face to face in Thailand. This meeting will have added significance in light of growing tensions between the US and China.
Blinken flew into Thailand on Sunday morning after attending the G20 leaders' summit in Bali and is scheduled to head to Tokyo on Monday to offer his condolences over the assassination of former PM Shinzo Abe.
