His presence would much more accurately reflect the present U.S. commitment to the region; sending the right signal to regional partners.
He is to deliver a speech reaffirming U.S. commitment to the region.
American protestations of its long-term commitment to the region sound perfectly plausible.
However, there are signs that France's commitment to the region is wavering.
Still, he acknowledged, "it doesn't hurt" with fund-raising that the firm has shown a commitment to the region.
"Pakistan hedges its bets based on what they believe our long-term commitment to the region would be," he said.
There were fears then, too, among Asian governments that the United States would reduce its commitment to the region and create a power vacuum.
Many in Asia have noticed that Mr Obama seems loth to spend much domestic political capital on this or other aspects of American commitment to the region.
Many East Asian countries worry that America's commitment to the region could be put at risk by more immediate threats in the Middle East and Ukraine.
"A lot of foreign banks don't meet the standards," says a local banker.Second divisionSeveral West European banks have shown real commitment to the region.
Mr. Girsky declined to put a price tag on the overall product program, but he said it underscored G.M.'s commitment to the region.
