A goal kick away from the Toa Payoh Stadium are reminders of the once-close ties between Myanmar and this Singapore neighborhood, home to the Burmese Buddhist Temple and streets named for the towns and rivers of the Golden Land. The arena hosts Balestier Khalsa Football Club, of Singapore's professional soccer league, and sits in the middle of a community which arrived from the country then known as Burma in the 1940s and 1950s.

Nepal’s beleaguered citizens are struggling to recover from the April 25 magnitude-7.8 earthquake that claimed more than 8,600 lives, caused countless injuries and left many thousands missing. But a United States Agency for International Development official said broader collaboration continues concurrently with U.S. Pacific Command on regional priorities including disaster preparedness, nontraditional regional threats, such as resource insecurity; climate change, pandemic issues and environmental considerations.

Engaging with hostile governments while meeting core strategic needs would better serve American interests than unending sanctions and isolation, the president argues. The administration’s policies reflect his confidence in diplomacy and his trust that openly engaging with other nations will be effective.