[News] On whirlwind trip across the globe, Biden addresses climate change, heads to Asia to meet with heads of state

[BirSaNN]

PHNOM PENH — Four meals, three time zones and two nights on a plane. 

It’s a grueling schedule for any U.S. president whenever they travel to Asia. President Joe Biden, who turns 80 this month, arrived in Cambodia on Saturday after spending nearly twenty-four hours traveling from Washington to Egypt and Phnom Penh.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that Biden called Oregon Governor-elect Tina Kotek on the first of two long-haul flights that brought him to Asia.

He also spent time checking in with White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

"He's been meeting with his team talking about the next couple of days," she told reporters traveling with Biden on Air Force One.

Biden’s (very long) day: The president left Washington, D.C. late Thursday evening and delivered remarks on Friday touting U.S. investments in clean energy at the COP27 conference in Sharm el-Sheikh before he landed in Phnom Penh.
First order of business: He sat down with the country’s strongman President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. The leaders discussed human rights and Biden pushed for the release of political prisoners, the White House said.
What’s on the agenda: A bilateral meeting with Cambodia’s prime minister, Hun Sen, a photo with Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) leaders and a gala dinner.
Where Biden's at now: Taking some downtime after two nearly back-to-back flights that lasted between nine and 10 hours each and a busy evening of events.
Gourmet experience: Air Force One passengers were served “honey chicken biscuits," a brunch of “spinach & artichoke egg soufflé” and a "harvest chicken salad” with apples, pecans, cranberries and crumbled goat cheese for dinner. For breakfast, the menu was a “blueberry maple chia parfait” and a “bacon, egg & cheese bagel."
Country mistakes: In remarks at the opening session of ASEAN, Biden referred mistakenly referred to Colombia instead of Cambodia. And it wasn't the first time. He called his host nation Colombia as he left the White House on Thursday evening.

 

link": https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2022/11/12/biden-flies-across-globe-key-meetings-asia-and-eventually-europe/10675998002/