HONG KONG — U.S. President Barack Obama plans to include the prime minister of Myanmar (aka Burma), a country long shunned by Washington, when he meets this week with leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

While in Singapore — part of his first visit to Southeast Asia since becoming U.S. president in January — he also will attend a meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) group, with the aim of confirming the new direction of U.S. foreign policy.

Obama plans to invite ASEAN leaders to Washington next year to further strengthen ties with the region, underscoring the declaration made in Thailand in July by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton — when signing the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation with ASEAN — that the "United States is back in Southeast Asia."