As US Vice President Kamala Harris will represent the United States at the third of three Asian summits in Bangkok next month, President Joe Biden returns for his granddaughter’s wedding, the White House announced on Friday.
On 11 November, according to the White House, Biden will go to Egypt for the annual UN climate conference before continuing on to Cambodia for the East Asia Summit and Bali for the Group of 20.
He will not, however, be present at the APEC summit, which will be held in the Thai capital on November 18–19.
As an alternative, Harris will go and then take a trip to the Philippines, a longtime ally of the US.
The White House said in a statement that her visit would “re-affirm and strengthen the US-Philippines Alliance and underscore the breadth of our cooperation as friends, partners and allies.”
According to the White House Historical Association, Naomi Biden, the eldest granddaughter of former Vice President Joe Biden, revealed earlier this year that she would marry on November 19 on the South Lawn of the White House, making it the 19th wedding to ever take place there.
When Thailand replaces Cambodia as chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which hosts the biennial East Asia Summit, Biden will probably have the opportunity to travel to Thailand in 2023.