Obama to Host US-ASEAN Summit February 15-16 in California

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — President Barack Obama will host the US-ASEAN Summit in Rancho Mirage, California on February 15-16, where he will meet with Southeast Asian leaders to further relations with the Asia-Pacific region, the White House announced in a statement on Wednesday.

"[H]e will host leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations next year. The summit will take place at Sunnylands in Rancho Mirage, California on February 15-16, 2016." The White House said.

The White House explained that the summit would serve as a forum to help strengthen cooperation on "political, security, and economic issues" as outlined under its US-ASEAN partnership strategy launched in November.

The White House explained that the unprecedented gathering would be the first hosted by the United States with ASEAN leaders and would build on "the deeper partnership that the United States has forged with ASEAN since 2009."

The gathering would also seek to further the Obama administration’s "rebalance" to Asia and the Pacific, the White House added.