Bush heads to Peru for APEC meet
Güncelleme Tarihi:
AFP
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Kasım 22, 2008 00:00
WASHINGTON - U.S. President George W. Bush headed Friday to an Asia-Pacific summit in Peru to work on progress in dismantling North Korea's nuclear programs and seek a more united front on the global economic meltdown.
With Bush vastly unpopular at home and world leaders already looking to successor Barack Obama taking office Jan. 20, spokeswoman Dana Perino warned Thursday that "I wouldn't expect a lot of news to be made on this trip." The U.S. president to attend the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, or APEC, forum, and hold one-on-one talks with key U.S. partners in aid-for-disarmament diplomacy with the secretive regime in Pyongang.
It may be Bush's final foray overseas before the sun sets on his eight years in office -- there are no more scheduled international meetings, though the president could still spring an unannounced trip in the next two months. But "this is a serious meeting, it is not a farewell," said Dan Price, the outgoing U.S. president's spokeswoman.
Bush hoped to foster closer trade ties among APEC's 21 members and win support for the Group of 20 rich and major developing countries' statement of principles on the economic crisis, adopted after weekend talks in Washington. Nine of the G-20 countries are also APEC members.
Bush's schedule called for meetings with leaders of China, Japan, and South Korea, Canada, Peru and he was also expected to sit down with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev for the first time since Moscow's August war with Georgia.
It may be Bush's final foray overseas before the sun sets on his eight years in office -- there are no more scheduled international meetings, though the president could still spring an unannounced trip in the next two months. But "this is a serious meeting, it is not a farewell," said Dan Price, the outgoing U.S. president's spokeswoman.
Bush hoped to foster closer trade ties among APEC's 21 members and win support for the Group of 20 rich and major developing countries' statement of principles on the economic crisis, adopted after weekend talks in Washington. Nine of the G-20 countries are also APEC members.
Bush's schedule called for meetings with leaders of China, Japan, and South Korea, Canada, Peru and he was also expected to sit down with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev for the first time since Moscow's August war with Georgia.