Biden Pledges $102 Million to Southeast Asian Nations for Pandemic Relief and Climate Action

FILE - In this April 22, 2021, file photo, flags of member countries fly at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta, Indonesia. Southeast Asian leaders are meeting on Oct. 26-28, 2021 for their annual summit where Myanmar’s top general, whose forces seized power in February and shattered one of Asia’s most phenomenal democratic transitions, has been shut out for refusing to take steps to end the deadly violence. AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana

President Joe Biden on Oct. 26 pledged $102 million for COVID-19 relief, climate action, education and economic support to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Biden, who joined the association’s virtual summit on Tuesday, told ASEAN Secretary General Dato Lim Jock Hoi and leaders from nine of 10 member states, that the partnership is “essential” to the architecture of the Indo-Pacific region.