美國老撾彌合曆史創傷開啓新的關係大綱

The White House said Tuesday the United States and Laos have opened a new era in their relations based on mutual respect and "a shared desire to heal the wounds of the past."

An announcement of a new partnership on issues of the economy, technology, education, security, the environment and human rights followed a meeting between Presidents Barack Obama and Bounnhang Vorachit in Vientiane.

Obama is the first sitting U.S. president to visit Laos, and announced Tuesday a three-year, $90 million contribution to Laos for a national survey of unexploded ordnance and efforts to clear the bombs dropped by U.S. forces in the 1960s and 1970s. About one-third of the 2.2 million bombs dropped on Laos remain undenotated and the lingering threat has slowed development in the country.

The White House said Obama expressed his appreciation for the cooperation of Laos in working to account for U.S. personnel who went missing during the war.

Laos, which currently chairs the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), has been criticized for its human rights record. Obama and Vorachit noted in their meeting Tuesday "the benefits of a candid and open dialogue" to narrow differences on rights.

Obama is seeking to reassure nations in Southeast Asia that the U.S. is firmly committed to its rebalance to the region. He will seek to further deepen ties and boost America's influence in the region as he attends the ASEAN summit and the East Asia summit this week.白宮星期二說，美國和老撾本着相互尊重以及“彌合曆史創傷的共同願望”開始了雙邊關係的新紀元。

奧巴馬總統和本揚·沃拉吉總統在萬象舉行會晤後，宣佈就經濟、技術、教育、安全、環境和人權等問題進行新的合作。

奧巴馬是第一位訪問老撾的美國在任總統。他星期二宣佈，三年內向老撾資助9千萬美元，幫助老撾對未爆炸的武器進行全國勘察，並清除六，七十年代美軍投下的炸彈。在向老撾投擲的220萬枚炸彈中，大約三分之一未爆炸，這個遺留的威脅阻礙了老撾的發展。

白宮說，奧巴馬對老撾在尋找戰爭期間失蹤的美軍人員方面所給予的合作表示感謝。

老撾目前是東南亞國家聯盟的輪值主席國，它的人權記錄一直受到外界批評。奧巴馬和本揚·沃拉吉在星期二的會談中指出，通過“坦率和公開對話”來縮小人權問題的分歧有諸多益處。

美國總統奧巴馬試圖讓東南亞國家放心，美國堅守亞洲再平衡的承諾。奧巴馬本週將出席東盟峯會和東亞峯會，謀求進一步加深美國與東南亞地區的關係，並擴大美國的影響。