WASHINGTON — Grappling with the worst oil spill in the nation’s history, President Barack Obama has abruptly scrapped a trip to Indonesia and Australia for the second time this year.
The president informed the leaders of both countries of the news in phone calls Thursday night, offering his “deep regret” and pledging to reschedule soon, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said in a statement just after midnight. Obama was to depart on a week-long trip to both countries, along with a quick stop in Guam, on June 13.
Asked for the reason for the delay, Gibbs said Obama was staying home “to deal with important issues, one of which is the oil spill.”
Meanwhile, Obama on Thursday called deepening ties with India one of his administration’s most important goals. Announcing he will visit the rising Asian power in early November, Obama said the relationship between the U.S. and India will help shape the coming century.
Obama’s comments came during the inaugural U.S.-India Strategic Dialogue, a high-level meeting that is meant to ease Indians’ fears that their country is slipping behind rivals China and Pakistan in U.S. interest. At a State Department reception hosted by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton for her Indian counterpart, S.M. Krishna, Obama called India “a responsible global power” and said the U.S.-India relationship “will be a defining partnership of the 21st century.”
