Cambodia proud to greet incumbent U.S. President for 1st time

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said Wednesday that his country is proud to welcome the newly re-elected U.S. President Barack Obama to the forthcoming 21st ASEAN Summit and related Summits later this week. "This will be the first time that the incumbent U.S. President comes to Cambodia for the 4th ASEAN-U.S. Leaders' Meeting," he said at a ceremony to deliver land titles to residents in Kampong Speu province. Obama has attended previous ASEAN-U.S. Leaders' Meetings in Singapore in 2009, in New York in 2010, and in Indonesia's Bali in 2011. The premier said that he and Obama will co-chair the forthcoming ASEAN-U.S. Leaders' Meeting in Phnom Penh. "It is a great honor for Cambodia to chair ASEAN and to lead talks in a regional and international framework," he said. Obama will make a 3-Asian nation tour which will bring him to Thailand, Myanmar and Cambodia on Nov. 17-20, the White House announced last Thursday. In Cambodia, he will attend the 7th East Asia Summit and the 4th ASEAN-U.S. Leaders' Meeting. "The presence of Obama at the forthcoming ASEAN Summits will bring closer ties between all countries in the region and the United States," Cambodian government spokesman and information minister Khieu Kanharith told Xinhua on Tuesday. The 21st ASEAN Summit and related Summits will be held on Nov. 18-20 at the Peace Palace in Phnom Penh. The Summits will get together ten ASEAN member states leaders and eight ASEAN dialogue countries leaders including U.S. President Barack Obama, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard and New Zealand Prime Minister John Key. Besides, the heads of the Asian Development Bank, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Trade Organization will take part in the meetings. Over 10,000 Cambodian security forces will be deployed to safeguard the Summits, he said. Founded in 1967, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations ( ASEAN) groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.